Ridgewood resident accepts offer to attend Governor's Summer Internship Program

BALTIMORE, MD (06/13/2013)(readMedia)-- Loyola University Maryland students Danielle Porfido, '14, Rebecca Carney, '14, Brendan Fulmer, '14, and Kaitlyn Hammel, '14, are among 20 university students from institutions across the country who have been accepted into the Governor's Summer Internship Program.

The 10-week internship program, administered by the Shriver Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, gives students the opportunity to work on substantive projects with senior-level public administrators and policy makers in Maryland state government. The program matches interns with departments or policy areas that closely correspond with each intern's field of study or career interests.

"Our strong presence in such a prestigious program speaks to the quality of the many exceptional Loyola students who are inspired by the University's Jesuit tradition to develop an unprecedented commitment to leadership," said CreSaundra Sills, Ph.D., director of The Career Center at Loyola.

While a record five Loyola students were offered admission into the 2013 program, four accepted the offer. Each of the four student interns will be working in a different department with a different mentor:

Danielle Porfido

Hometown: Ridgewood, N.J.

Major: political science

Department: Maryland Department of Disabilities

Mentor: George Failla, JR./Rachael Faulkner, deputy secretary/director of interagency affairs

Rebecca Carney

Hometown: Phillipsburg, N.J.

Major: global studies

Department: Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development

Mentor: Angela Fraser, team manager, office of community outreach

Brendan Fulmer

Hometown: Broomall, Pa.

Major: political science

Department: Maryland Governor's Office of Homeland Security

Mentor: Brendan Armbruster/Benton Best, governor's homeland security advisor/policy analyst

Kaitlyn Hammel

Hometown: Cranberry Township, Pa.

Majors: elementary education

Department: Maryland State Department of Education

Mentor: Danielle Susskind, specialist, academic policy, division of academic policy

Their duties include attending meetings, drafting correspondence, tracking legislation, and researching policy options. They will also work in teams to develop policy papers that address significant issues facing Maryland today, and the papers will be presented to the governor and/or other senior staff members at the end of the program. For their work, each of the students will earn a $3,000 stipend.

The Career Center helped guide Loyola students through the internship application process. Kevin Hula, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, and Antonia Keane, associate professor of sociology, critiqued students' application essays.

Four Loyola students were accepted into the program in 2012. Since 2006, more than 25 Loyola students have been accepted into the program.

About Loyola University Maryland:

Established in 1852, Loyola University Maryland is a Jesuit comprehensive university comprising Loyola College, its school of arts and sciences; the Sellinger School of Business and Management; and the School of Education. Loyola enrolls 3,900 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students from across the country and around the world.

(Loyola marketing and communications intern Ariel Genovese, '14, contributed to this story.)