Students who participated in the BrainMind internship shared their thoughts on the program:
“The BrainMind internship was a deeply rewarding experience for me. I was able to develop critical entrepreneurial skills such as fundraising, networking, and operations--all of which were a foreign language to me before. This internship exposed me to a new side of neuroscience beyond medicine, test tubes, and fMRI scans. Although I still hope to pursue medicine after graduating college, this internship has encouraged me to consider an entrepreneurial path as well.”
BrainMind Intern, Summer and Term Time
Harvard University
“The BrainMind is the perfect starter course on how to be a student entrepreneur. While BrainMind provides incredible exposure to myriad fields within neuroscience, the BrainMind internship also offers many opportunities to get involved in companies addressing the social determinants of health, impact investing, philanthropy, AI, and social entrepreneurship. Over the course of the summer, I've cofounded a nonprofit, started building a neurotech startup company, and developed a therapeutic app, all while working on BrainMind projects. The BrainMind was there for me every step of the way, providing valuable insight and flexibility to pursue my own projects within the internship and independently with mentors I met through BrainMind. The most influential aspect of the BrainMind internship, by far, has been the mentors. BrainMind places a big emphasis on cultivating your own mentors throughout the summer, but also introduces you to people along the way as they see overlapping interests. The people that I met through BrainMind this summer have introduced me to new interests, shown new career paths, advised me on my projects, and in some cases offered my opportunities to collaborate with them on their work. I am so grateful for all of wonderful mentors and useful insight into entrepreneurship I've gotten through the BrainMind.”
BrainMind Intern, Summer and Term Time
University of Southern California
“My time working as a part of the BrainMind taught me more in terms of teamwork, strategic planning/problem solving, goal setting, exploring different interests, and time management than I have ever learned in such a short span of time. Through mentorship sessions oriented towards developing useful skills for entrepreneurship, networking, and working as part of a team I have developed new skills and improved pre-existing ones significantly. Although a great deal of the work may be unfamiliar to new members, the management always makes it an easy transition through emphasizing that this internship is truly about learning and not just getting work done. BrainMind is filled with bright and hardworking students as well as a management team whose number one priority is to help you grow as an entrepreneur, a teammate, and someone with the ability to make a lasting impact on the world. Being a part of this team has greatly contributed to my aspirations of cultivating a career in medical entrepreneurship and is an opportunity that can greatly enhance the careers of all students interested in science, business, or anything in between!”
BrainMind Intern, Summer and Term Time
Harvard University
“My experience with the BrainMind has helped me become more connected the landscape of the intersection of neuroscience and technology, whether that means people, ideas, research, or devices and software while simultaneously conditioning my scientific writing and communication skill set. It also helped me to build a network of young professionals and potential mentors, not limited to the Bay Area, to help me learn and grow professionally and personally as I continue to do work in the space of neuroscience + tech. I hope I can continue to stay connected to this space and network, even after my official position ends.”
BrainMind Intern, Summer
Stanford University
“Through BrainMind, I developed communicational and analytical skills that matured my professionalism in both science and entrepreneurship. Moreover, it was an unique opportunity to work in a project with college students from across the nation, which not only strengthened my collaborative spirit, but also offered me with a greater insight into various students, not limited to MIT. Under the mentorship of highly established directors, Diana and Calvin, I learned about valuably method of establishing professional connections and industrial relationships. Importantly, the working environment was flexible; both Diana and Calvin were very considerate of my time as a college student, which made me more attracted to stay with BrainMind over the summer as well. Thank you!”
BrainMind Intern, Summer and Term Time
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“BrainMind provides you with a great intersection between STEM and business. I often and still do find it difficult to see what I want to pursue in the future but the BrainMind definitely gave me a chance to explore my options and receive mentorship from Diana, Calvin, and Joe, which are just of the few impactful operators of the BrainMind. They have allowed me to participate in continuing the growth of my interests in STEM and Business and have helped calm that anxiety of not knowing what is out there. This internship is flexible and worked well for me especially dealing with the hard academics at Harvard and for that I am grateful.”
BrainMind Intern, Summer and Term Time
Harvard University
“The BrainMind was an incredibly unique experience which broadened my perspective of biology and science, showing me the importance of both a multidisciplinary understanding and approach to scientific problems. I’ve never had the opportunity to approach science from such an integrative lens, so I’m grateful BrainMind gave me the chance to do so. Michael McCullough, Daniel Kraft, and the others involved in BrainMind are also a big inspiration. Being titans in their respective fields, I was excited to learn the many creative and driven ways they’ve made their own unique mark on the world. Thank you so much for this opportunity Diana, I really enjoyed my time with BrainMind and I'm hoping I have time to continue during the school year!”
BrainMind Intern, Summer
Harvard University
“Thank you so, so much for a rewarding few months at BrainMind (and RegenMed!) as an BrainMind intern. As I'm sure you remember, at the start of this summer I was really unsure of what direction I was heading towards after graduation this summer, but after being at BrainMind, I'm fairly certain that I'll be remaining in the life sciences and healthcare industry. By far, I really appreciated your willingness to help me learn so many different aspects about non-profits, which really allowed me to see how a non-profit building itself from the ground up really works. I've gained a lot of concrete skills such as grant writing, event planning, and formal writing for white papers and research papers, in addition to really refining some softer skills such as email writing and teamwork. This semester, I've been really excited to take a Psychopharmacology course that feels so familiar from this summer, and I have you and BrainMind to thank! Thanks again for all of your support and guidance -- I think I speak on behalf of all of the other interns as well when I say that we really couldn't have done it without you.”
BrainMind Volunteer, Summer
Harvard University
“This summer I had the opportunity to actively learn many skills and directly apply them to real-world problems. Through my work with this team, I was able to both diversify my skillset as well as deepen my skills in certain areas. The skills that I practiced were in various areas, from business development to software development to project management. The chance to interface and meet with various members of the BrainMind ecosystem as well as gain invaluable skills has already been of great use to me, as I will find myself in a managerial role this academic year at Stanford University.
I certainly was challenged during this internship. It was very rare that I would be developing just one skill at a time; on the contrary, the demands of developing these varied non-profits usually required that I simultaneously wear multiple hats. That being said, every day was its own adventure, presenting new challenges to overcome — and consequently, new lessons to be learned. I always felt comfortable reaching out to managers and/or supervisors when I wanted to learn more about my work or seek guidance, and overall, I am very pleased that I had the chance to be a part of this talented team of students. I look forward to the opportunity to continue working with some of these projects during the school year.”
BrainMind Intern Lead, Summer
Stanford University
“Thanks again very much for the experience, it was really great working with you. I definitely feel like I gained a lot of experience that I'd never had the opportunity to get before. The entirety of the entrepreneurship side of the companies was very eye-opening and provided a lot of insights into what a future in these types of industries could look like. I'm very grateful for the experience.”
BrainMind Volunteer, Summer
Harvard University
“I genuinely appreciate the opportunity this internship gave me to learn more about social entrepreneurship and, as a result, develop an entrepreneurial mindset. As a Manager, your thoughtful feedback/suggestions during Team Lead calls on assignments and the advice you provided me with how to fit the entrepreneurial mindset best to get things done for BrainMind, as well as your positivity and camaraderie deserve high recognition. Moving forward, I hope to stay in touch with you and the rest of the BrainMind Team, as I prepare to conclude my final year at Harvard and figure out what it is I want to do next in life.”
BrainMind Intern Lead, Summer
Harvard University
“This summer, I gained invaluable experience learning how to write scientific grant proposals. I was also able to assist with a project aiming to place high achieving Tibetan students into competitive colleges amongst other things. I would recommend joining BrainMind if you’re looking for a diverse meaningful summer experience and if you’re someone that loves tackling projects and taking initiative.”
BrainMind Intern, Summer
Stanford University
