All undergraduate students with a minor in gerontology are required to complete a gerontology internship by taking GERO 495 – Internship in Gerontology (link to smart catalog). Students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate Program in Gerontology (link to smart catalog) may take GERO 595 – Graduate Internship in Gerontology (link to smart catalog) as a program elective. Internships are open to all students with an interest in aging or gerontology.
Please see the CCSU Gerontology Internship Guide for more information on specific internship requirement and expectations.
For more information please contact Dr. Andrea June at 860-832-3105 or ajune@ccsu.edu.
Possible Internship Sites
Active Day of East Hartford
144 Main Street, Suite J, East Hartford, CT 06118
Jennifer DiSette, Administrator
860.568.9692
Arbor Rose at Jerome Home
975 Corbin Avenue, New Britain, CT 06052
Donna Valente, Activities Director & Volunteer Coordinator
860.229.3707
Arden Courts of Farmington
45 South Rd, Farmington, CT 06032
Marcy Blondin, Program Coordinator
860.677.4060
Athena Home Health & Hospice
147 Toddy Hill Road
Newtown CT 06470
Larry Cadrain, Hospice Volunteer Coordinator
860.751.3620
Athena Home Health and Hospice has facilities statewide, and our main offices are in Newtown, Farmington and North Haven. Interns will receive training, visit residents in facilities, and also help with administrative work. All that is needed is a positive attitude and a caring presence.
Borrow My Glasses, LLC
PO Box 1099, Madison, CT 06443
Donna Fedus, Gerontologist & Founder
203.318.8100
Catholic Charities
Joel Cruz, Director of the Institute for the Hispanic Family
860.527.1124 EXT. 244
Program Locations:
Hispanic Senior Center, Institute for the Hispanic Family, Catholic Charities
45 Wadsworth Street, Hartford, CT 06106
South End Wellness Senior Center, Catholic Charities
830 Maple Avenue, Hartford CT 06114
Students would work with staff that oversee the Senior Centers. Students will have an opportunity to interact with seniors to help promote socialization. Assist staff and/or participate of senior center activities [i.e. exercises, arts and craft, games], gain knowledge for how to navigate State and Federal social services for the elder. (Spanish speaking students preferred for the Hispanic Senior Center.)
Center on Aging, UConn Health
263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030
Julie Robison, Ph.D., Professor
860.679.4278
The internship would involve observing research staff conduct telephone and in-person interviews with older adults and people with disabilities, training on survey administration and conducting telephone interviews, data entry, and assisting with other research related tasks as needed.
Connecticut Coalition on Aging (CCOA)
650 Ellsworth Avenue, New Haven, CT
Peaches Quinn, President, CCOA
203.915.3154
The internship experience can be tailored to the interests and academic needs of the student. Options include: (1) Advocacy - Annual Legislative Survey - This a statewide, annual survey of older adult issue preferences. An intern could assist with survey development, data collection, and analysis. (2) Social Media/Communications - CCOA is looking to strengthen its presence on Facebook and other social media apps plus enhance its website. A student intern could assist with design, including Spanish translation of select written material. (3) Education - CCOA's annual Carlson Forum, held each June, offers a unique opportunity for an intern to participate in all aspects of planning and production of a high profile, statewide forum (i.e., topic and location selection, presenter search, event publicity, materials development, evaluation). Please note that some travel will be required (e.g. monthly CCOA Board meetings in Rocky Hill, travel to locations associated with the selected project).
Duncaster Retirement Community
40 Loeffler Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002
Jeff Fournier, Director of Life Enrichment
860.726.2398
Students will get an understanding of how a life care community works. They will work with the interdisciplinary health care team and get an understanding of health care within a nursing home setting. They will engage in a variety of recreational activities tailored for our clientele and get an understanding of the various health care issues inherent in the elderly including Alzheimer’s disease.
East Hampton Housing Authority
Governor Bill O’Neill Drive, East Hampton, CT 06424
Judie Bobbi, Executive Director
860.267.8498
East Hampton Housing Authority has two sites, Bellwood Court and Chatham Acres, with a total of 70 units of senior/disabled residents with seven of these units being handicap accessible. The Housing Authority will hold a meet and greet for the intern and residents. For those individuals that are shut ins, a staff member will individually introduce the intern. The intern will visit with residents in their apartments or the community room and will assist with updating and collecting survey data from residents to assess their needs about their living situation. This will assist the housing personal to be aware of any concerns or accommodations they may need assistance with. This internship will provide opportunity for personal interaction with our senior community and will give the intern a better understanding of working in the field of gerontology and provide beneficial feedback to our staff regarding support needed for our residents.
Enfield Housing Authority
1 Pearson Way, Enfield, CT, 06082
Shari Riddick, Portfolio Manager
860.745.7493 x202
Interns would work with staff that oversee our four elderly/disabled housing sites and our congregate housing site. Interns would assist in the office, do well being checks on residents, perform site visits, identify resident needs and provide support and resources and assist with activities.
Farmington Senior Center
321 New Britain Avenue, Unionville, CT 06085
Andrea Bouchard, Community & Recreation Program Assistant
860.675.2491
The gerontology intern is responsible for learning about the roles of the Farmington Senior Center, focusing on program development and management by assisting staff with their responsibilities. Through this internship opportunity, students will work directly with the seniors participating in various social, recreational, educational and wellness programs. The intern will be responsible with developing, advertising, and implementing their own event(s) approved by the staff.
Federation Homes
156 Wintonbury Avenue, Bloomfield, CT 06002
Ellen Cyr, Assistant Executive Director/RSC
860.761.3202
Hebrew Senior Care Senior Day Center
1 Abrahms Blvd, West Hartford, CT 06117
Candice Smith, Director
860.523.3857
Student interns will learn how Senior Day Centers (aka Adult Day Centers) assist our clients to stay in the community as long as possible by providing them with a structured, therapeutic programs, skilled nursing care and personal care as needed. Each client has a person centered plan of care that is developed by the nurse and the recreation therapist. Depending on the students field of interest, they can learn all aspects of Senior Day Centers from the admission process to basic program assistance work to learning how to facilitate a program.
Immanuel House
15 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT 06105
Charmaine Emond, Therapeutic Life Enrichment Director
860.525.4228 Ext 12
As an intern at Immanuel House, you will have the opportunity to work with older adults who live independently and those who live in assisted living apartments. During the therapeutic programs, you will get to learn more about the individual residents, their needs, and their abilities. By learning this information, you will have the ability to enhance their quality of life by offering challenging programs. As a student intern, you will be mentored and encouraged to co-facilitate groups. Under the guidance of the director, you will learn how to develop a few programs of your own.
Jerome Home
975 Corbin Avenue, New Britain, CT 06052
Jenna Sweet, Life Enrichment Director & Volunteer Coordinator
860.356.8236
The gerontology internship at Jerome Home provides the student with an exposure to long term care and the holistic support services provided. The internship experience will provide the student with group leadership training while also enhancing their basic communication skills with older adults. The intern may also be exposed to other disciplines which support the health and well-being of residents who reside in a long-term care community.
Mulberry Gardens
58 Mulberry Street, Plantsville, CT 06479
Donna Johnson
860.276.1020
New Britain Senior Center
55 Pearl Street, New Britain, CT 06051
Rex Cone, Director
860.826.3553
North Central Area Agency on Aging
151 New Park Ave, Box 75, Hartford, CT 06106
Maureen McIntyre, CEO
860.724.6443 x283
We have several different programs and therefore interns will be assigned to work directly with program staff on specific projects. Past internships have included: working with our Senior Medicare Patrol Coordinator by representing the agency at events and meetings, working with the CEO to develop a listserv of elected officials for legislative outreach, researching issues and writing brief blogs/interest pieces. All interns have the opportunity to shadow staff and attend staff meetings for an immersion in agency life.
Plainville Senior Center
200 East Street, Plainville, CT 06062
Ronda Guberman, Assistant Director or Shawn Cohen, Director
860.747.5728
Student interns are involved with learning all aspects of the Senior Center including: day-to-day operations, administration, social services, working with volunteers, planning and coordinating programs and special events, writing newsletter articles, creating flyers for publicity, assisting with grant reports and statistics, and more based on the time of year and Senior Center schedule. Students become familiar with local, state and federal resources for older adults and gain a comprehensive understanding of the importance of senior services.
TOVAH, Inc.
Transforming Housing for Vibrant Affordable Housing
342 North Main Street, West Hartford, CT 06117
Kim Pietrorazio, M.S., Executive Director
860.752.9239
Program Locations:
Chase Manor I Apartments, Norwich
Chase Manor II Apartments, Norwich
Federation Square Apartments, West Hartford
Industria Commons & Brytania Square Apartments, New Britain
Ridgefield Housing Authority, Ridgefield
Sigourney Square Apartments, Hartford
We invite you to join our team. This internship experience will provide students with exposure to the field of resident service coordination within elderly and disabled affordable independent living communities. Interns will assist Resident Service Coordinators (RSC) in providing holistic support to residents to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency, lease compliance and individual and community life satisfaction. Students will be fully engaged in proactive case management processes, resident engagement activities and in the coordination and facilitation of health and wellness, educational, social and recreational and capacity building programs. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in weekly Team Meetings and RSC training programs.
Town of Newington Senior and Disabled Center
131 Cedar Street, Newington, CT 06111
Diane Stone, Director
860.665.8500
Town of Windsor Human Services Department
599 Matianuck Avenue, Windsor, CT 06095
Susan Raggo, LMSW, Social Services Coordinator
860.285.1836
The Town of Windsor is a culturally and economically diverse community. This placement will consist of experiential learning in both the Senior Center (primary) and Social Services. Possible projects include rebranding the Senior Center. This project involves researching what other senior centers are doing, what we need to change, where we want to be and how we move forward. Information gathering may also include focus groups with Windsor Seniors, and input from other Senior Centers in Connecticut. For Social Services, the intern would participate in efforts to identify and register older adults on the town’s At Risk Registry. The At Risk Registry is used by the Town of Windsor Emergency Management. The intern would be doing outreach by phone or small group meetings.
UR Community Cares, Inc.
5 Jamie Lane, Manchester, CT 06042
860-430-4557 (call or text)
Michelle Puzzo, President and Co-founder, Physical Therapist
Flexible and diverse learning opportunities with non-profit start-up that supports community members age 70+ or age 18+ with permanent or temporary physical disabilities via a secure, innovative digital platform. Local volunteers provide home-based services such as housework, yard work, companionship and transportation. Intern can choose focus area(s) such as community education, grant funding / policy research, development of presentations to state and local agencies, social services referral programs, performance tracking and reporting, social media and website content, in addition to virtual or home visits. Work directly with president / co-founder and board advisor. Organization was established in 2019 and is 100% volunteer based. Currently serving 90+ cities and towns in Connecticut. A good fit for passionate and energetic students who want to make a difference in their communities. Internship can include remote, virtual, and/or in person work.
West Hartford Senior Center
15 Starkle Road, West Hartford, CT 06117
Gina Marino, Director
860.561.7582
Wolcott View Manor
50 Beach Road, Wolcott, CT 06716
Cheryl Stolfi, Therapeutic Recreation Director
203.879.8066