By Hensley Carrasco
Carolyn Bruckmann MPP/MBA 2025 spent the summer working as an Economic Development Strategic Policy Fellow in the Office of the Governor of Connecticut as part of the Dukakis Fellowship Program.
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Students participating in the Michael S. Dukakis Governors’ Summer Fellows Program spend 10 weeks between their first and second years of graduate study serving in U.S. governors’ executive offices. Through this fully-funded, nonpartisan fellowship, students apply leadership and analytic skills to tackle critical state-level policy issues in health care, education, economic development, public safety, budgeting, and other areas.
Learn more about Carolyn’s experience.
What projects did you work on while at the Office of the Governor?
I spent the summer working on several workforce development projects. There are around 100,000 unfilled jobs in the state of Connecticut, so workforce development has been a huge priority for Governor Ned Lamont for the last several years.
Primarily, I focused on a proposal for a skills accelerator program. This accelerator program would allow underemployed or unemployed 17-to-22-year olds the opportunity to earn a series of stackable certificates at Connecticut community colleges, giving them valuable credentials and opening doors to in-demand jobs. If implemented, this program would provide unparalleled support to students, including stipends to cover transportation and housing needs and one-on-one career counseling.
I also worked with the Department of Administrative Services and Department of Labor to build an online portal that Connecticut residents can use to explore careers that might be relevant to their skillsets. I enjoyed the opportunity to be creative with the project, creating mockups and user flow diagrams for the design of the portal.
Can you describe an average day in your role?
I would usually spend my mornings working on projects, shadowing a meeting, or working on a research-related memo for my supervisor. My afternoons would typically be more meeting heavy. For example, I’d meet with the web designers for the workforce portal project, talk them through our ideas, and get feedback before we then start developing it.