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Hands-On Impact: Grow America Internships Show Hartwick Students How to Strengthen Communities

During J Term, five Hartwick students gained hands-on experience with Grow America, an organization dedicated to providing financial support to small businesses in underserved communities. Whether working in the office or remotely, they contributed to projects that helped strengthen restaurants, daycare centers and housing initiatives.

“I got to see firsthand how Grow America builds small businesses in communities that really need them,” said Pablo Gutierrez ’25, a business administration and accounting major who, alongside Dahlia Landry ’27, a biology major, worked in Grow America’s New York City office in Midtown East.

The two spent their J Term compiling data on small businesses across the country, helping Grow America lenders assess support packages that would enable these businesses to succeed. Their work directly contributed to economic development in historically underfunded communities.

Grow America Interns with mentors after dinner in restautrant
Carlena Ficano

“Grow America exposes students to the important work of closing gaps in the US commercial lending system. By providing credit access to minority-owned small businesses, crucial housing and other infrastructure development opportunities, these communities, in some of the poorest regions of the country, can expand, sustain and thrive.”

Carlena Ficano

Professor of Economics

The J Term internship program was developed by Ficano, Kristin Jones, professor of economics, Pat Dopazo, director of planned giving, and Dan Marsh III ’73, president of Grow America, who wanted to give Hartwick students a chance to learn about economic development finance.

Dahlia Landry '27 Grow America Intern

“Grow America wants business owners to learn how to develop the economy of local communities, especially ones that don’t have traditional means of wealth or access to larger banks. And these small businesses support their communities.”

Dahlia Landry '27

Biology Major & Grow America Intern

For Maria Serra ’26, a business administration and accounting major, the internship provided valuable insight into small business management.

“I want to own a small business in the future, so learning how Grow America helps small businesses is something I can apply to my own plans,” said Serra. “One week, I helped put together a project packet for a group in Texas; the next week, I was updating the data for a previous client. It was always something different, but I really loved helping people learn to manage their money.”

While some students worked in person, others gained valuable experience remotely, including Garrett Frost ’25, a business administration and economics major, and Sarah Matumbura ’26, a criminal justice and accounting major.

“I worked to identify housing projects that were done in Illinois while I was here in Oneonta,” said Garrett. “This internship made me feel like I was working for a better community, not just to make money.”

February 19, 2025
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