\u201cThrough Macy\u2019s social commitment, Mission Every One<\/em>, we aim to empower the next generation of leaders. Our partnership with UConn demonstrates that commitment in action by providing future leaders with real-world experience and solution collaboration opportunities,\u201d says Laurie Rando, Senior Director of Sustainability at Macy\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cWe enjoyed working with this group of high-caliber students,\u201d she says. \u201cThe work they did is incredibly insightful and will help us as we continue enhancements in human rights due diligence work.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Keary and Sullivan are staying on as Macy\u2019s summer interns to begin implementing some of the ideas that the UConn team recommended.<\/p>\n Macy\u2019s Treated Students Like Professionals<\/strong><\/p>\n Chambers, who is also the Co-Director of the Business and Human Rights Initiative at UConn, heard about the Macy\u2019s project and submitted a 30-page proposal outlining what students could accomplish. The retailer offered a $65,000 grant to enable students to be paid for their research and to cover their travel expenses for two trips to Macy\u2019s Herald Square flagship in Manhattan.<\/p>\n \u201cOur students were treated like professional consultants. They played active roles as partners, creating and presenting findings,\u201d Chambers says. \u201cTheir meetings required formal agendas, their projects had time constraints, and their work involved professional engagement with many members of the Macy\u2019s team.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThe students did so well. I remember the last phone call when they were peppered with questions, and they offered great responses,\u201d she says. \u201cThat was the moment when I saw how far they\u2019d come.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n The experience will certainly serve the students well, Chambers says.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving direct experience with an iconic brand like Macy\u2019s will be a gamechanger for our students as they take next steps in their professional journeys,\u2019\u2019 Chambers says. \u201cThis is one of the experiences that makes the UConn program and experience distinctive.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Making Human Rights \u2018Actionable\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Landesbaum says in addition to applying her sustainability knowledge, the project allowed her to sharpen her business skills.<\/p>\n \u201cMy favorite part of the project was the overall experience. I discovered how to take an issue, see challenges, and propose a solution in a meaningful and actionable way,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u201cThis experience allowed me to see how a company operates, how to interact with people who have more experience, how to network, and how best to manage time. I learned strategies that I\u2019ll take with me wherever I work. It was a really great experience and I\u2019m grateful for the opportunity,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u2018You Don\u2019t Have to be a Lawyer\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Brie Seferian \u201902 (SFA), a senior manager in Sustainability at Macy\u2019s, helped spearhead the student project. Seferian says it is one thing to be versed in academic theory, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily prepare young workers to address real world challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a good opportunity to apply their new skills to real-world issues,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cThe student team put their knowledge to use in a more structured way, developed a deep level of critical thinking, and conducted a project across multiple departments.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n On the last day, the students received career coaching and the opportunity to meet an array of Macy\u2019s colleagues. \u201cWe wanted them to see all the careers they could pursue with their expertise and to know you don\u2019t have to be a lawyer to have an impact on social responsibility,\u2019\u2019 Seferian says.<\/p>\n Students Optimistic About the Future<\/strong><\/p>\n Sullivan says that her work at Macy\u2019s validated her interest in sustainability, and she was excited to see that such an important company is committed to sustainable business practices.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gives me hope about where we go in the future. This is an important concern for all businesses,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cThis was my first internship, and I was able to present in front of some very key executives. The School of Business prepares you for public speaking, my courses gave me the knowledge that I needed, and my friends and I practiced our presentation so many times. I loved seeing it come together and creating something clear and concise from something so broad.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Arminda Kamphausen, director of Global and Sustainability Initiatives at the School of Business, says the partnership was powerful.<\/p>\n \u201cFor one of the biggest and arguably the most prestigious department stores in the world, to open their doors to our students and allow them to take a peek at their work and say, \u2018How can we improve our human rights policies?\u2019 is incredible,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u201cAs our students look back, I think they will remember the challenges but also that this was one of the greatest learning experiences and a chance to build strong relationships,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cIn the end what was good for Macy\u2019s, and for our students, ultimately served both planet and people.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018This is one of the experiences that makes the UConn program distinctive\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":233739,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2473,1862,99,1875,2235,2227,2458],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-233737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-human-rights","category-busn","category-student-life","category-grad-school","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-edu-homepage","category-undergraduates"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-02 19:04:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233737"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233746,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233737\/revisions\/233746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/233739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233737"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=233737"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=233737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Students](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Outside-1crop-898x1024.jpg\")