Gladys Brooks Foundation Fellowship Awarded
An internship can give students experience and professional connections that lead to a fulfilling career. But paid internships are scarce, and sometimes students need to choose between an opportunity to build skills and explore their chosen field and a summer job that pays the bills. Imagine being able to accept a summer internship that you are truly passionate about—without having to worry about the money.
A recent generous gift from the Gladys Brooks Foundation has endowed a new fellowship fund that provides stipends for summer internships for scholars in the Tufts BLAST (Bridge to Liberal Arts Success at Tufts) program. BLAST students can apply, and fellows are selected based on their educational achievements, leadership, and academic ability.
BLAST supports undergraduate students who may be first in their family to attend college, or who attended an under-resourced high school, or who have high financial need, both as they transition to college and throughout their college career. Through workshops, peer mentoring, and team-building events, BLAST helps develop scholars who strive for the academic excellence, leadership, and active citizenship that sets Tufts apart. Established in 2024, the Gladys Brooks Foundation Fellowship Endowed Fund provides annual funding to allow two BLAST scholars who exemplify these Tufts values to pursue a transformative experience through Tufts’ Summer Internship Grant Program.
The Gladys Brooks Foundation was created under the will of Gladys Brooks Thayer of New York to provide for the intellectual, moral and physical welfare of the people of this country by establishing and supporting non-profit libraries, educational institutions, and hospitals and clinics. In 2024, the Foundation awarded grants to 16 institutions, including Tufts, totaling more than $1.7 million.
In spring 2025, Patricia Clemente, a rising senior majoring in Cognitive and Brain Sciences and minoring in Engineering Management, was awarded the first Gladys Brooks Foundation Fellowship. Patricia, who has been interested in neurological diseases since high school, when she first dissected a human brain, was motivated to learn how changes to a part of the brain can influence cognitive and behavioral functions and lead to disease. She completed her summer research internship in Dr. Marcus Weera’s Addiction Neuroscience Lab at Tufts where she conducted daily fixed interval reinforcement experiments as part of a project studying the neural mechanisms of aggression under the direction of visiting scholar, Dr. Herbert Covington. The Gladys Brooks Foundation Fellowship enabled Patricia to gain hands-on experience in a neuroscience lab, learning directly from active researchers; the internship exposed her to new research techniques and deepened her understanding of the research process and her field—beyond what she learned in her major.
Patricia has been invited to continue working in the Weera lab during fall 2025, where she will contribute to ongoing projects and learn additional research techniques. Patricia notes that because the summer internship was paid, she was able to “focus on this research experience without having to take on another job. This meant I could immerse myself in the work, attend extra meetings, and take full advantage of everything the lab had to offer. Without this funding, I wouldn’t have been able to go as deep into research or build the skills I have now.”
The depth of this summer research experience has solidified her interest in pursuing a career in psychiatry, possibly with a focus on addiction or behavioral disorders. Most importantly, however, this transformative experience allowed Patricia to apply her Tufts liberal arts and science education to address meaningful real-world issues and to grow both personally and professionally—an experience that will continue to shape her future, wherever it takes her.
Christopher Campbell, M.Ed, Director of Tufts’ FIRST Resource Center and of the BLAST Program, captured the importance of the Foundation’s endowment of this fellowship:
"The Gladys Brooks Foundation Fellowship will make a real and lasting impact. For many of our BLAST Scholars, the decision to pursue an unpaid internship or say yes to a transformative opportunity is not just about interest or ambition, it is about affordability. Too often, financial limitations force students to choose short-term income over long-term growth. This fellowship shifts that equation. It empowers students to prioritize their development, immerse themselves in hands-on experiences, and build the kind of skills and confidence that shape both their careers and their identities.
This is not just about funding. It is about access, equity, and affirming that our students deserve the same opportunities to thrive, lead, and contribute meaningfully to their fields. That kind of investment in students’ futures is not only life-changing, it is generational."