Two college interns hope to hone skills and spread the word about TBBCF mission
By KATHLEEN EDGECOMB
Two students will be earning college credits this fall helping the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation increase its social media presence and bring its message of hope and its goal of finding a cure for breast cancer to a wider audience.
Bridney Casillas, 20, a student at Three Rivers Community College, and Colleen Kane, 21, a senior at Eastern Connecticut State University, are the two new interns at TBBCF. They will receive three college credits each for their work during the fall semester.
“I’m excited to be part of it,” said Kane, who lives in Waterford with her family, “to spread awareness and make a difference in my community.”
Casillas, who lives with her family in New London, also is looking forward to spreading the word about the good work of TBBCF.
“It’s amazing what you guys do,” she said.
The interns will be working with volunteers doing a variety of projects, including redesigning logos, working on posters and pushing stories about TBBCF out on social media, events planning and being ambassadors for TBBCF in local high schools.
“I’ll do whatever they want me to do” said Casillas.
While attending New London High School, Casillas volunteered for Hearing Youth Voices, a youth-led social justice organization working to create change in education in New London. She also worked at Planned Parenthood and received a stipend for work in the STARS program. STARS stand for Students Teaching About Responsible Sexuality. In addition to mentoring younger teens she designed a PowerPoint presentation and flyers for the group. This summer she volunteered at Writer’s Block Inc., a New London non-profit writing and performance group that works with teen-agers. While there, she designed postcards, banners and posters.
Casillas will graduate from Three Rivers in the spring with an associate’s degree in graphic design. Her goal is to get a job as a graphic designer for a non-profit or a museum.
Kane, who is a senior at Eastern majoring in business and marketing, will receive a bachelor’s degree in the spring. When not in class, she works at Waterford Youth Services organizing holiday programs that provide holiday meals at Thanksgiving and gifts for families at Christmas time.
She has been involved with TBBCF for years. She’s walked the quarter marathon and with students from Youth Services has manned a booth on Great Neck Road in Waterford the day of the walk, dispensing pink lemonade and candy to walkers.
Her family has also been involved with TBBCF. Her mom has done the walk and her dad, who lost his mother to breast cancer when he was only 5 years old, hosts an annual Cornhole tournament in his yard and donates the proceeds to TBBCF.
While attending Sacred Heart University for three semesters Kane joined Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority and helped spread breast cancer awareness at NFL games with the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.
“It’s everywhere. Everyone knows someone,” she said. “I’m passionate about this.”
She is thinking about continuing her education after she graduates and earning a master’s in business administration. She’d like to do online marketing and software design.