Name: Samuel Henriquez Jr.; Institution: Suffolk County Community College; Program: Community College Internships (CCI) Program: Education Level: Undergraduate Student
January 7, 2025
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The career path for Samuel Henriquez Jr. was clear. He would complete his associate’s degree, transfer to a four-year college, complete an engineering degree, and become an engineer.
Then one day he stopped at a bulletin board at Suffolk County Community College in Selden, New York. It was covered with flyers. One flyer stood out. Community College Internships (CCI), it said. Spend a summer at a national laboratory and work alongside scientists and engineers, it said. Brought to you by the Department of Energy Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists. “I thought, ‘Might as well apply,’” Henriquez recalled of that April day in 2024. “I knew any experience would be good, especially at a national laboratory. I also thought it was more appealing than any internship at an engineering firm that I could work at during the summer.”
Henriquez applied to be a CCI intern at Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, near Chicago. Like many CCI interns, Henriquez was impressed and pleasantly surprised that his internship would involve more than an introduction to national laboratory life — much more.
At the conclusion of his internship, Henriquez had decided that his education would go beyond an engineering bachelor’s degree — he’d decided a PhD is in his future. And he’s hoping the Brookhaven contacts he made through the CCI program will bode well for a future summer-time job at the Laboratory.
"You can't put a price on this to get this experience. It was extraordinary. The perfect place to start off with my first internship."
-Samuel Henriquez Jr., CCI Program Participant