For some Bates students, summer 2024 meant adding skills. Avery Lehman ’25, for example, is an accomplished photographer, but didn’t know much about the business side of the art world — until her Purposeful Work internship at a New York City art gallery.
For others, summer meant feeling accepted into the world of business. Johnny Nunez ’26 felt “everyone’s extraordinary kindness and willingness to help” during his Purposeful Work internship with an investment firm in New York City.
This past summer, Bates offered 128 Purposeful Work internships in 18 states, the District of Columbia, and seven countries outside the U.S.
Another five dozen students did funded research on campus with Bates professors across academic disciplines (14 in all) or had off-campus academic internships. And even more students held internships with community organizations through Bates’ Harward Center for Community Partnerships.
In Part I of our stories about Bates students with college-supported summer experiences, we check in with eight students whose work took them outside of Maine, to businesses and organizations from Boston to Santa Barbara, Calif.
‘I was super intimidated at first, since I felt a little out of my element’ — Eileen Dockery ’26
The place: Asian American Arts Alliance (4A)
The job: During her Purposeful Work internship at 4A, Dockery, an environmental studies major from Rye, N.Y., was invited to lead a project to produce a short video highlighting work by artists in the Bandung Residency.
The video project tested her. “I was worried about the outcome, but I learned that I just needed to trust the process and have confidence in my own skills,” she said.
The quote: “The internship gave me the chance to explore my own interests while contributing in a meaningful way by helping artists and activists realize their projects. The arts community has had such a positive impact on my life, and it’s really nice to be able to spread the love.”
‘People are more than willing to help’ — Aydan Gedeon-Hope ’25
The place: MLS Next Pro league offices in New York City
The job: Gedeon-Hope, an interdisciplinary studies major from Norton, Mass., was a Purposeful Work intern at MLS NEXT Pro, a Major League Soccer feeder program that provides a competitive platform for developing young players and a pathway to professional soccer’s highest levels.
Gedeon-Hope said he was able “to learn, surrounded by smart and accomplished individuals.” It took time to seize the opportunity to do some networking, but he was quickly and pleasantly surprised by how “nearly everyone responded and agreed to meet me.”
Gedeon-Hope’s interdisciplinary studies major combines interests in marketing, management, and the social sciences with a focus on sports. (He is a two-sport Bates athlete, in basketball and track and field.)
“At NEXT Pro, even though you work in a specific department, many projects and presentations require knowledge beyond your specialization,” he said. “The liberal arts helps students gain a broad understanding of multiple subjects rather than just focusing on one area.”
The quote: “I gained a deeper appreciation for my interdisciplinary journey because of this experience.”
‘Purposeful work is finding and exploring new interests’ — Aasya Patel ’26
The place: Wolfe Research in New York City
The job: Patel, an economics major with a mathematics minor from Indore, India, was a Purposeful Work intern at Wolfe Research in midtown Manhattan.
Wolfe is a sell-side equity research firm, meaning it analyzes financial securities for trading. In her work, Patel used time-series methods, which elucidate patterns and trends over time, to forecast commodity stock indexes. She also conducted macroeconomic research on factors affecting returns.
Patel’s Bates coursework in time-series econometrics was particularly valuable, she said.. “A shoutout to professors [Austin] Smith and [Daniel] Riera-Crichton for how well they covered these topics at Bates!”
She also had the opportunity to attend panels and presentations, teaching her “valuable skills in engaging with an audience, particularly in a finance context — an area I hadn’t previously encountered.”
The quote: “Purposeful work is finding and exploring new interests and learning more about those interests through experienced professionals — in addition to learning from my mistakes.”
‘I definitely feel more connected to my major’ — Hannah Burdick ’25
The place: Off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif.
The job: Burdick, a biology major from Lyme, N.H., had a Bates-funded environmental internship on the West Coast with Ocean Rainforest, a sustainable aquaculture business. The company grows seaweed, which absorbs carbon and offers eco-friendly alternatives to plastics and fertilizers, among its climate-positive uses.
Half the week, Burdick was five miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., working with colleagues at the company’s off-shore research and development farm — the first of its kind — which grows kelp, a type of seaweed. “We measured kelp growth and water conditions, maintained the farm equipment, and helped partnering researchers with their studies,” said Burdick.
For the other half, she was on shore doing lab research on various topics, including fermentation, where the kelp is broken down by microbes to produce useful and sustainable substances.
For Burdick, the half-and-half experience added up to 100 percent satisfaction. “It was the perfect balance for me — fresh air and time on the ocean as well as lab work that I’ve worked so hard to learn at Bates.”
The quote: “I loved that the work I was doing went toward making food, fertilizers, and cosmetics more sustainable.”
‘It allowed me to see the direct impact of my work’ — Johnny Nunez ’26
The place: HPS Investment Partners in New York City
The job: Nunez, an economics major from New York City, had a Purposeful Work internship with HPS Investment Partners, a U.S.-based global investment firm.
The internship gave Nunez experience in accounting including analyzing supplier invoices, maintaining management fee schedules, and reviewing unclaimed properties. Along the way, he started to identify his strengths and interests. “I am particularly passionate about understanding and evaluating businesses, and I thrive in environments where I can solve problems.
Along the way, the internship opened his eyes to the power of networking and building professional relationships.
To that end, he appreciated “everyone’s extraordinary kindness and willingness to help.” He looks forward to being able “to help young professionals navigate their journeys just as I was helped.”
The quote: “It gave me a vivid sense of the work environment and projects I find most engaging and rewarding.”
‘I’ve learned about the internal part of the art world, the business side’ — Avery Lehman ’25
The place: Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York City
The job: Until this summer’s internship, Lehman, who is an accomplished photographer, only had experience with what she calls the “external part of the photography world — making the art.”
As a Purposeful Work intern, Lehman learned about “the internal part of the art world, the business side — what goes into planning an exhibition, what kind of correspondence needs to happen, what type of materials the work needs to be framed or glazed with.”
The practical skills will come in handy as Lehman, a studio art major from Portsmouth, N.H., prepares to exhibit her work at the annual Senior Thesis Exhibition at the Bates Museum of Art in 2025.
Working with gallery founder Yancey Richardson was particularly meaningful, Lehman said. “She’s really championed female photographers in such a male-dominated space of the art world.”
The quote: “To actually meet and connect with photographers I have studied or followed has been incredible.”
‘The members of the investment team were all great mentors’ — Linh Hoang Vu ’26
The place: Promethos Capital in Boston, Mass.
The job: Hoang Vu, a double major in mathematics and economics from Hanoi, and Drew Williams ’25 worked as research interns at Promethos, an investment boutique focused on global equity investments founded by Joe Sylvester ’90.
Projects included research on the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, a framework to assess an organization’s business practices and performance on sustainability and ethical issues.
The experience taught Williams, an environmental studies major from Guilford, Conn., “that you can bring your own morals and perspective into any work you are doing.” Williams wrote a whitepaper that challenged her presumptions about an issue related to the oil and gas industry. “That was a unique and important growth experience,” she said.
The quote: “This internship allowed me to think about environmental and social issues critically in the world of finance.” — Williams
