Name: Nora Williamson
Class Year: 2025
Major: Neuroscience
Minor: Biology
Hometown: Madison, WI
Internship Organization: Concussion Alliance
Job Title: Program Manager
Location: Remote
What's happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
Concussion Alliance is a concussion education and advocacy nonprofit attempting to spread information on concussion diagnosis, symptoms, treatments, and more in an accessible way. As part of this effort, synopses of cutting-edge concussion-related research are published biweekly by Concussion Alliance. You can check out our website at concussionalliance.org. As a program manager intern with Concussion Alliance this summer, I along with two other program managers have been designing weekly curricula, setting weekly schedules, running check-ins, social hours, project meetings, and guest speaker presentations, and managing two webpage projects being completed by pairs of science writers. I have acted as a community builder and resource for the science writer interns as they go through this program and work on their newsletters and final projects. At the end of this summer program, Concussion Alliance interns will have completed six new/updated webpages on various areas of concussion research and published numerous newsletter synopses.
Why did you apply for this internship?
I applied for this internship because I want to advance my communication and organization skills in a professional setting, and because Concussion Alliance works closely with professionals in the neuroscience field. Working with a variety of people and communicating with a broad audience is vital in any field. Additionally, I was eager to be part of Concussion Alliance’s important work to educate and advocate regarding concussions.
Was there anything special about how you found this internship?
A fellow Bryn Mawr student recommended this internship to me. She interned with Concussion Alliance in the summer of 2022 and had nothing but good things to say about the leadership team and overall experience. Thus far, I completely agree with what she described as this internship has been incredibly enlightening and helped me hone many important skills.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
My favorite part of this internship has been getting to work with such an excellent team of people who are all passionate about concussion education and advocacy! We truly could not accomplish what we have so far without such a dedicated and impassioned group of people.
Working remotely for the first time? What has that experience been like for you?
This is my first time working in a professional setting remotely, although my senior year of high school was held online due to COVID. I have enjoyed the flexibility and convenience afforded to me by working a combination of synchronous and asynchronous hours. Working remotely has taught me to stay on top of my weekly tasks through self-motivation rather than external deadlines. Additionally, although at first working with my colleagues via Zoom and Slack was a bit awkward, the program has worked to foster a strong sense of community and support for all.
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
Being a program manager with Concussion Alliance has definitely improved my teamwork and communication skills. The admin team performs all the organizational duties behind running a successful internship program, which requires much communication and teamwork amongst ourselves, other interns, and professionals working with Concussion Alliance. Being a program manager has also taught me to be more confident in my knowledge and ideas, and to speak up more.
Can you give us three adjectives and three nouns that describe your internship experience?
Educational, passionate, important
Teamwork, communication, organization
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.