With National Intern day right around the corner on July 27th, the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes is taking time to recognize the 2023 communications interns and their contributions to the amplification team. 

Alexis Castillo and Naya Quartey joined FSRI as communications interns in January 2023 and November 2022 respectively and they quickly established themselves as indispensable members of the team. Valuable contributors to FSRI amplification efforts, they actively collaborate with other members of research amplification and subject matter experts to generate engaging content for the FSRI website and social media platforms. They are integral in taking FSRI content from concept to publication by assisting in copywriting, reviews, approvals and publishing.

Alexis is grateful for the skills that interning with FSRI has allowed her to develop. She is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), working towards earning a bachelor’s in communication. She expects to receive her degree in May 2024.

“Throughout my college career, I’ve made it a personal goal of mine to explore opportunities that will give me the chance to build my foundational skills for my career. FSRI has played a large role in that, as I have gotten the opportunity to learn how to write and develop content outside of the classroom. I am gaining the new knowledge and skills of professional writing, particularly in a subject-matter field,” said Alexis.

Naya is a senior at UMD, working towards earning her bachelor's in honors English and communication. She started interning with FSRI in November 2022 and will earn her dual degree in December.

“My experience has been enjoyable getting to know my coworkers and FSRI. I’ve learned a lot about fire safety and how safety information is relayed to the public. I’m learning how to develop, edit and produce content. I’m also learning to contribute to other department initiatives and getting better at interpreting scientific writing,” said Naya.

FSRI is proud to provide support for students throughout their internships and careers. The Internship Program offers a wide range of opportunities for motivated students to contribute to the FSRI mission of addressing unsolved safety risks in the world. Throughout the years, many of our interns have gone on to graduate and begin their careers at FSRI.