Interns Get Free Lunch — & Start In Biosciences

Adrianna Perugini came to Biohaven Pharmaceuticals as an intern to see if she was interested in pursuing biotech. Now she is a full-time employee working in downtown New Haven. 

That was the point of the intern program that originally hired her: to develop a local workforce in New Haven’s growing biosciences center.

Perugini attended an event Thursday with a new wave of 56 Biohaven summer interns at a local celebration of National Intern Appreciation Day. 

The event was held mid-day in the parking lot behind Biohaven’s 215 Church St. offices. The 56 local Biohaven interns networked and enjoyed churros and ice cream in the heat.

Biohaven, which develops and markets drugs targeting debilitating neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including rare disorders, participates in a broader program called SPRINT, which stands for Student Program to Ready Interns for Next-generation Talent. The program is organized through The Bioscience Collaborative, a group formed by the Governor’s Workforce Council in partnership with the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce.

The Biohaven interns work in departments throughout the company, said Director of Consumer Marketing Lauren Murphy. High school and college students work together and are all paid. 

Intern Mary Sarah Olson has returned for her second summer interning at Biohaven. ​“We’re changing people’s lives, and I’m not just saying that. The work has a goal,” she said.

Intern Sofia Trotta agreed: ​“Everyone is so willing to teach us here.” 

Shoreline State Sen. Christine Cohen encouraged the interns to set down roots in Connecticut so that once they join the workforce, they’ll stay. 

Lamont closed out the event by nudging the intern cohort to look forward: ​“There’s nothing like an internship to open your eyes as to what this is all about.”