We have a lot of programs in the hemophilia community, but this is one of the best. You may need a lot more than just a diploma to secure a great job; you’re competing with talented and smart people. One thing that all prospective employers look for (me included) is leadership: that esoteric quality about someone that sets them apart from the pack. You don’t always learn it in school, but you can learn it here.
I was present in 2006 when a group of great people from our community came up with this idea and presented for funding. The Bayer
Hemophilia Leadership Development Program (BHLDP) provides college students from the hemophilia community a unique internship opportunity to build foundational leadership skills while also deepening their connection to the hemophilia community. BHLDP, now in its eighth year, gives selected interns an opportunity to work directly with the Bayer marketing team in Whippany, New Jersey. Interns also get to experience rotations which include a public policy awareness session in Washington D.C., a community advocacy-focused visit to National Hemophilia Foundation in New York, and activities with Bayer’s partners.
When discussing their favorite aspects of the internship process, the former interns commented that they were surprised—and thrilled—by the amount of real work they were able to do during their time with Bayer. “We were exposed to real meetings and real experiences,” said Lewis Chesebrough, a 2012 BHLDP intern. “We participated in a real professional environment with people who were supportive and kind to us.”
In addition to getting to do real, meaningful work, the program also helped interns chart a course for their future. Christian Mund, a member of the 2013 internship class and a junior at Syracuse University, said that his Bayer internship helped him realize marketing was the path he wanted to pursue following graduation. “Before the internship, my local sales representative asked what I wanted to do after college; I had no idea. After I finished the BHLDP internship program, I knew marketing was what I wanted to do because the internship really opened my eyes to what I could do after graduation and now I am looking for other internships in marketing.”
Following a BHLDP internship, many former interns have stayed involved in the hemophilia community. Rich Pezzillo, a member of the 2007 internship program, is now the Communications Director at the Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA). “The BHLDP internship helped give me direction on what I was most passionate about and how I felt most fulfilled,” said Pezzillo. “I now have opportunities to help other young adults that may not have the proper resources or the family to talk to about what it is like to have a bleeding disorder.” And Aaron Craig, a member of the 2010 internship class, started a company called Microhealth that developed an app for the hemophilia community that he says is like
“Facebook for the health care system of hemophilia.”
Bayer is currently accepting applications for the 2014 Bayer Hemophilia Leadership Development Program. Applications for the six-week, paid internship are due by Friday, February 28, 2014. (Yeah, I put that in red, so move on it!) For more information and to apply visit https://www.livingbeyondhemophilia.com/webapp/index.jsp
For US patients only.
(Truth in advertising: The above is an unpaid announcement for the common good)
Great Book I Read
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment by Steve Harvey
This was a gift from a co-worker who obviously thinks I need help in the dating department. She might be right, after reading this hysterical and no-nonsense view of how women should date from a man’s point of view. Blunt and taking a somewhat dismal view of men in general (think “dog training”), there are still some nuggets of truth here and it’s a whole lot of fun to read anyway! Men are not just from Mars, they are an entirely different species altogether and in severe need of BF Skinner’s behavioral training. I read it in one night and laughed a lot. And learned a few things. Three/five stars
