Intern Engagement Initiative Supports ULRI and ULSE’s Interns and Fellows

Internships allow students to discover and explore different career paths, grow their networks, and gain confidence in the workplace. This experience is especially critical as students explore safety science and standards careers at UL Research Institutes (ULRI) and UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE) that they may not have directly learned about in their coursework.

The 2024 intern cohort joined ULRI and ULSE in early June with interns and GEM Fellows spanning the Electrochemical Safety Research Institute (ESRI), Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), Materials Discovery Research Institute (MDRI), Office of Research Experiences & Education (OREE), and Shared Services.

To help support and engage interns, fellows, and early career professionals across ULRI and ULSE, OREE developed and piloted the Intern Engagement Initiative (IEI) in 2023 — providing professional development, mentorship, and connection building focused on persistence in STEM careers. The program was developed in response to the findings research OREE conducted in 2022 and 2023 to understand the experiences of STEM interns across the U.S. The study showed that organizations like ULRI can provide structural supports to help young people persist in STEM careers.

In the program’s first year in 2023, one of the IEI’s 10 inaugural participants was hired full time by FSRI: Michelle Sauer, and another intern, Alexis Castillo, is still working with FSRI as a communications intern following her recent college graduation.

Castillo said this role is important to her and her future career because of the new skills she’s learned, the network she’s created, and how it has impacted the way she navigates the STEM field as a non-STEM major.

“It’s meaningful to me to be able to let people know about the resources we’ve created and share out the accomplishments of our time with the niche but incredibly supportive community that works in the fire safety field,” said Castillo.

Michelle Sauer is currently a senior education and training coordinator with FSRI, hired full time after serving as an instructional design intern in 2023. Her work focuses on creating education and training materials that help fire departments develop safer and more effective practices.

“I’m so glad my work contributes to the safety of firefighters around the world, while also granting me the space to cultivate my interests,” Sauer said.