A year before receiving his honorary Yale degree, a former U.S. president challenged the country to "ask not what your country can do for you ‒ ask what you can do for your country." This summer, seven current Yale students asked what they could do for their country and home state by spending their summers serving public sector and non-profit causes of all kinds for six weeks each. These experiences were organized by the Yale Club of Hartford, which took charge of recruiting these terrific students, helping arrange their summer internship placements, and providing funding to make these experiences possible.
Complementing efforts like Yale's President's Public Service Fellowship in New Haven, the Yale Club of Hartford's Frank O.H. Williams Summer Fellowship program helps Yale students give back through meaningful public service in the capital city region of Yale's home state. Focused on recruiting service-minded Yalies ‒ especially those originally from Greater Hartford and Northern Connecticut ‒ the Yale Club of Hartford's summer fellowship program awards stipends to offset living expenses and to compensate students who choose to spend a summer serving their home communities. Now in its 10th year, the program has helped place dozens of Yale students in summer internships at some of Connecticut's most deserving causes, funding well over $100,000 of stipends to alleviate cost-of-living for summer fellows and to help organizations hosting students stretch budgets even further while benefiting from the talents of caring Yale students. Through the years, students have shared their talents and energy with a wide range of organizations in Greater Hartford, including:
Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Connecticut Department of Children & Families, Connecticut Department of Public Health, Connecticut Invention Convention, Farmington Community Chest, Hartford Habitat for Humanity, Hartford HealthCare, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), The Jackson Laboratory, Mark Twain House & Museum, Office of the Secretary of the State, Real Art Ways, TheaterWorks and Wheeler Health
The Yale Club of Hartford partnered with the Yale Office of Career Strategy this year to help get the word out about this year’s summer fellowship opportunity. Dozens of well-qualified Yale students applied for the 2025 program, from which seven students were chosen following a competitive selection process. Once students were named summer fellows, leaders within the Yale Club of Hartford worked with their networks to match students with causes that aligned with their interests and needed what the students had to offer. With many non-profits and Connecticut state agencies facing unexpected funding shortfalls in 2025, this year’s summer fellows were able to deliver outsized impact at a critical moment, providing valuable skills in support of public health and healthcare in CT, STEM education and narrowing the achievement gap, placement services for recent immigrants, and more. In total, this summer’s fellows gave more than 1,100 hours of their time for Hartford area causes, all of which was paid for by the Yale Club of Hartford. The Club also periodically checked in with students during their experiences and facilitated two social and networking events to help this year’s summer students get to know one another and the broader Yale alumni community in and near Hartford.
“Working with the Afghan refugees this summer was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. It reminded me that even small acts of service can have a lasting impact—and that, often, the people we aim to help end up teaching us just as much in return.” -Aarav Mehta ’29, Fellow with Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS)
“My favorite part of working with the kids was getting to see their ideas come to life and seeing the final products. I also really enjoyed getting to know the kids and their personalities better whilst becoming a friendly face.” -Gemard Guery ’28, Fellow with Connecticut Invention Convention
“CABE was an absolutely incredible office to intern at, I got exactly the exposure I wanted of the overlap between education and legislation.” “I am extremely grateful to the Yale Club of Hartford for connecting me with CABE and sponsoring this opportunity—it was truly fruitful and I'm walking away with more clarity and perspective.” -Tirsit Gessesse ’27, Fellow with Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) and the Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State
Summer Fellowship program Chair and former Yale Club of Hartford President Mike Kurs ‘77 shared how excited organizations that matched with summer fellows were to host this year’s interns. “As in the past many years that we have matched students to placements, we have found again this year that organizations have been quick to offer to consider students supported by our summer program and attentive to making sure the students’ talents and interests fit the organizations’ needs.”
Current President, Eric Fleischmann ’83 added, “As someone who grew up in Greater Hartford, and ended up settling here, I vividly recall the challenges of trying to find a summer internship during my undergraduate years. In our experience, current Yale students greatly appreciate the financial assistance we provide, as well as our help in identifying specific opportunities that align with their interests. In addition, they seem to enjoy applying the skills they have acquired in New Haven to give back to their local community.”
Vice President Bradford Galiette ’08, ’12 MS, ’11 MBA, a lifelong Connecticut resident and tech executive who frequents NYC, Seattle, and the SF Bay Area, noted how grateful the Yale community of Greater Hartford is to meaningfully connect today’s Yalies back to where they grew up. “The gravity upon Yale students and their peers to opportunities in the New York’s, Boston’s, San Francisco’s, and Washington’s of the world has never been greater. With Connecticut sandwiched closely between two of these destinations, our talented Connecticut students feel drawn to out-of-state destinations particularly strongly. We are thrilled, therefore, to see this year’s summer fellows not only working in the communities from which they came ‒ but importantly, giving back in ways that are highly worthy of their Yale educations. We hope these experiences help pave the way for these students to become lifelong contributors to our state.”
Founded in 1885, the Yale Club of Hartford celebrated its 140th anniversary this spring. Fully alumni-led and alumni-funded since the beginning, the mission of the independent non-profit is to strengthen the connections among Yale, local alumni, and residents of Greater Hartford, promote a sense of community through programs and events, and help attract local talent to both the undergraduate and graduate programs at Yale University.
More information about the Yale Club of Hartford and the Frank O.H. Williams Summer Fellowship program ‒ including how to apply for the summer 2026 program and ways to support the program ‒ can be found on the Yale Club of Hartford website.
