Notes from the Field: Hannah Petrone '17

Hannah Petrone '17 interned at the Clinton Global Initiative during 2015 Fall Term as a John French Memorial Fund intern.

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was started 11 years ago as a means of assisting underprivileged areas around the world and holding global leaders accountable for promises made about their planned contributions to address the problems affecting these areas. To be a member of the organization depends on the development of a "Commitment to Action", which is an original, specific, and measurable charity plan. The staff at CGI organize events year-round to bring together these members, as well as other leaders from all sectors, including NGOs, nonprofits, and government, to both review the status of ongoing Commitments to Action as well as to discuss the most pressing challenges around the world and the most innovative ways to solve them.

Hannah interned in the Program Department, which is responsible for developing the content of CGI meetings as well as managing the logistics for large events. As a content intern, her specific responsibilities were to research the the work of various individuals, corporations, organizations, and provide a rationale for why they were a relevant fit for a specific session at meetings.

On the first day of her internship, Hannah recalls the excitement and being directed on how to address President Clinton and Secretary Clinton if she happened to run into them in the office.

“This is not something you have to think about in most internships.”

The biggest challenge that Hannah faced in her internship was when she was asked to compile data and create a presentation for the Annual Meeting Debrief, which is one of the most important events for CGI. At first, Hannah felt the logistical component of the assignment to be out of her comfort zone. She addressed this challenge by asking her supervisor all of the necessary questions to accomplish the task and by pulling another intern on to the project so they could more efficiently think through the task together.

Hannah describes this project as “the most rewarding aspect of the internship” where she was able to have “a direct impact on one of the biggest and most influential gatherings of world leaders” via her research.

--Submitted by Rachel Favors '18, Student Program Assistant for Communications and Student Outreach