Brown has welcomed students since the program’s start, hosting more than 60 interns since 2018 across a wide range of departments and offices — from the Warren Alpert Medical School to human resources and information technology. This summer, nine students are working on campus, more than half of whom are placed with Brown Athletics, where they’re gaining experience in marketing, event operations, facilities management and sports administration.

Karla Gacasan, senior associate director of athletics for human resources at Brown, said the division aims to welcome interns every summer, offering local students a firsthand look at the world of collegiate athletics administration. 

“From a human resources perspective, I see this as feeding the pipeline for future employees in collegiate athletics,” Gacasan said. “A student who may never have considered working in college sports could get bitten by the bug and think, ‘That’s it — I’m in.’”

And that’s exactly what’s been happening. Since Brown Athletics began hosting PrepareRI interns three years ago, some have gone on to study sports management in college. Others have stayed involved by working part-time at campus events, helping with ticket sales for weekend competitions, according to Gacasan. 

This July and August, interns are working full-time for seven weeks, fully embedded in the daily operations of the departments they’ve joined, Gacasan said. Brown Athletics interns are shadowing strength and conditioning coaches, assisting with marketing campaigns, conducting research, and helping set up for camps, clinics and practices — getting a real-world look at the many roles within college athletics. 

“When you go to a game, it’s not just pom-poms and music — there’s a lot happening behind the scenes in terms of operations, and that’s the perspective we want them to understand,” she said.

Across campus, three other PrepareRI interns are working as animal care technician assistants at Brown’s Center for Animal Resources and Education, helping with daily operations such as mopping floors, emptying trash and stocking personal protective equipment, among other tasks.

PrepareRI is just one example of the many ways local high school students are gaining meaningful, hands-on experiences at Brown. Faculty, staff and students across the University engage with Providence-area schools and communities, hosting dozens of high school interns each year in pathology, chemistry, earth science and more.

By welcoming local students as interns, Brown Athletics — along with other divisions, schools and centers — is helping fulfill the University’s long-standing commitment to providing meaningful learning opportunities for students in Providence and across Rhode Island, Gacasan said.

“Being a good community partner is a priority at Brown,” she said. “This internship program with PrepareRI is a powerful example of how we can turn that commitment into action through real community engagement.”