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2016 | Doing Business in Connecticut 23 By Natalie Missakian D rew Andre was skimming through the want ads on OffStageJobs.com when he stumbled across what seemed like the perfect summer internship. e Eugene O'Neill Memorial eater Center was looking for a sound technician. Andre, then a music technol- ogy major at Connecticut College in New London, initially set his sights on a job at a big music venue. But he knew he could easily transfer his music skills to theater, and vice versa. Plus, it was only a bike ride away from campus and right on the beach. As luck would have it, a faculty member at the college knew someone who worked at the O'Neill. Aer a brief text message exchange, Andre had an interview — and soon aer, an internship. "It's a really beautiful area," Andre said of theater's Waterford campus, which includes a theatrical village for playwrights, composers and puppeteers. "I would bike from (Connecticut College) to the O'Neill, jump in the water, do some yoga and stretch for a minute, and then just walk to campus." at peaceful routine would be the perfect complement to the fast-paced, high-energy atmosphere he experienced backstage. Productions at the O'Neill are workshops, so each day brought a different show and a brand new sound setup. Real-world learning Andre landed the job through Connecticut College's funded internship program, one of only four of its kind in the country. Every student, aer complet- ing his or her junior year and a series of career workshops, is eligible for $3,000 to apply toward an internship. More than three-quarters of the Class of 2015 participated last summer, according to the college's Office of Career and Profes- sional Development. While at the O'Neill, Andre worked on four national conferences — puppetry, musical theater, playwriting and cabaret and performance — doing everything from designing audio systems to triggering sound effects. "at involved me being on the headset listening to the stage director, and I would trigger when she said 'go,' so I had to listen to every second of every piece of work that I did audio for," he explained. Other artists approached him with sound "visions" that he and fellow interns brought to life. "at's so much fun because you're designing the sonic environment," he said. While working on a puppetry performance, one artist asked for "a spacey wind environment with a distant giant robot stomping sound." "at's word for word — I'll never forget it," he said with a laugh. "I actually recorded myself stomping and did some audio editing." While his career goals remain focused on music, he says the internship opened doors for future networking: He le with a list of contacts. "I still have a lot to learn," said Andre, who was expected to graduate in May 2016. "But I feel very prepared and confident to go out and conquer my career choice." ❑ Drew Andre discovered new bacteria. Gusky, who taught the course with adjunct professor Karen Hunter, became interested in the program as a way to make her introductory course more engaging. "In a standard freshman biology course, you do one lab one week and then a totally different lab the next, and they're kind of cookie-cutter," she said. "With this, it was a real research experiment with results that they could actually see." Cultivating entrepreneurs Universities like Yale and UConn are also spurring economic growth by nurturing young companies. In New Haven, Yale fosters a robust startup culture thanks to organizations like the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute (YEI), which helps aspiring entrepreneurs secure funding and hone skills in pitch development, product marketing and investor-courting. One fledgling startup incubated at Yale is Wellinks, a wearable health-technology com- pany that Business Insider named one of the "25 hottest under-the-radar startups in America." e company created a wearable brace- monitoring device and app for scoliosis patients that allows doctors to make sure patients — typically children — are wearing their braces properly, and allows physicians to respond to problems in real time. e company also is working to apply the tech- nology to knee braces, walking boots and other markets. Ellen Su, who cofounded Wellinks in 2013 with then-undergrads Levi DeLuke and Sebastian Monzón, said the company used YEI offices to work on prototypes and has access to 3-D printers and other high- tech equipment through the Yale Center for Engineering, Innovation and Design. e device is being used in clinical studies at New York Presbyterian Hospital and the company is expected to begin selling the product this summer. "We definitely couldn't have done it without the resources here. I don't think we would have even tried if we didn't have this really, really good support network," said Su. She said interest in startups has ex- ploded on campus. "Before it was 'I have an idea, I'm going to start a company.' Now it's kind of flipped where people are wanting to start companies and they're trying to find ideas, they're try- ing to put together teams … ere's a lot of excitement and energy around it," Su said. ❑ TAKING THE STAGE School's funded internship program is one of only four like it in the U.S. PHOTO/NICK CAITO PROFILE