Akshita Prakash DRC'26 Externs at Princeton Child Development Institute (PCDI)
Date
April 28, 2025
This past spring break, Douglass students completed Spring Externships around the region. Externships, offered through the Reilly BOLD program for Advancing Women’s Professional Development, are immersive job-shadowing experiences that pair students with professional mentors in an industry of interest. For many students, an externship is their first glimpse at the working world.
Akshita Prakash DRC '26, a Biological Sciences major and French minor, externed at Princeton Child Development Institute (PCDI).
“This semester, I had the incredible opportunity to complete an externship at PCDI, a leader in behavior analytic services for individuals with autism. I worked closely with expert educators and behavior analysts to observe and understand how evidence-based interventions support learning across different age groups.”
In addition to classroom observations and professional development meetings, she gained firsthand experience in reviewing and discussing data collection practices, implementing behavior techniques in academic instruction, engaging with mentors and staff committed to person-centered care, and exploring how applied behavior analysis (ABA) can be used to empower individuals with autism.
“This externship strengthened my interest in developmental and behavioral health and ignited my passion towards integrating public health, medicine, and communication to support underserved populations,” Akshita said. “I’m grateful for the educators, specialists, and students who made this experience so impactful!”
“Douglass alumni make inspiring site mentors for our externship program. Interested in hosting a Douglass student at your company? Connect with Chrissy OllerDRC’16 atchristine.oller@rutgers.edufor more information”
The Estelle Lebowitz and Ann Beneduce-Lebowitz Artist-in-Residence program brings a distinguished artist to campus for a year to present a solo exhibition of their artwork, give artist talks, and collaborate with Douglass students on hands-on creative projects and workshops. The program was endowed in 1999 by Professor Joel Lebowitz, Director of the Center for Mathematical Sciences Research and George William Hill Professor of Mathematics and Physics at Rutgers University, in honor of his late wives—artist Estelle Lebowitz and author and editor Ann Beneduce-Lebowitz.
This is absolutely my favorite time of year. There’s a palpable sense of possibility in the air–it’s a new beginning for those of you joining us for the first time, and a return home for those coming back to the distinctive mix of routine and discovery that college life brings. And, as a lifelong Jersey Shore resident, I’ll admit I also love this season because it’s “local summer,” when the beaches are at their quietest and best.
This is absolutely my favorite time of year. There’s a palpable sense of possibility in the air as students arrive on campus. For first-year and transfer students, it’s a brand-new beginning. For continuing students, it’s a return to their campus home, to that distinctive mix of routine and discovery that college life offers. And, as a lifelong Jersey Shore resident, I’ll admit I also love this season because it’s “local summer,” when the beaches are at their quietest and best.
