Photo By Mark Getman | Col. Raul Medrano, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton commander, and Trevor Loew, deputy...... read more read more
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Four college students from the City University of New York (CUNY) system capped their summer internship at U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton with a formal capstone briefing Aug. 19, presenting their findings on internal control evaluations to the installation’s new garrison commander, Col. Raul Medrano, and Trevor Loew, deputy to the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hamilton commander, along with members of the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) and the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR).
The briefing marked the culminating event of the USAG Fort Hamilton CUNY Internship Program, a six‑week initiative managed by the Directorate of Human Resources (DHR) that placed four interns across key directorates to develop real‑world workforce skills and introduce them to Army civilian service.
The interns — Mahrukh Ali, a student at Queensborough Community College; Chloe Chen, a student at Hunter College; Justina Cao, a recent graduate of Brooklyn College; and Alexandra Kasimov, who recently transferred from John Jay College and will attend New York University — spent the summer embedded with DPW and DFMWR, gaining hands‑on exposure to Army installation management operations.
Each intern completed 19 hours of structured work per week. For four weeks, they worked directly with directorate staff, dedicating one day each week to synthesizing their findings at DHR.
The program also included professional development training in résumé writing, public speaking and artificial intelligence, as well as professional portraits taken at the Fort Hamilton photo studio — the same style provided to Army civilians — giving the interns official headshots to use as they continue their academic and professional careers.
The portraits were later incorporated into the final capstone briefing presented to the garrison commander.
Their capstone project centered on the Internal Control Evaluation Program (ICEP), guided by Army Regulation 11‑2. The interns audited specific processes — including knowledge management and SharePoint utilization, events management, physical and access control, and DPW work orders — from the perspective of internal auditors.
Each team produced a risk assessment identifying potential vulnerabilities, a completed DA Form 11‑2 (Internal Control Evaluation Certification), a Corrective Action Plan tracker outlining proposed remedies and responsible parties, and a final briefing summarizing their evaluation and lessons learned.
Desiree Betts, installation management specialist and CUNY Internship Program manager, said the program was intentionally designed to give interns meaningful responsibilities.
“The program was designed to give these young women substantive work — not busywork,” Betts said. “They came in, they learned the material, and they briefed senior leaders. That takes courage and professionalism.” Loew said the interns exceeded expectations and demonstrated a strong capacity for analytical thinking and teamwork.
“It was fantastic,” Loew said. “Both the interns and those who ran the internship program did a magnificent job. The garrison commander was highly impressed.”
Betts added that the interns’ contributions directly supported directorate improvement efforts.
“I am incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication these interns put into their projects,” she said. “They quickly grasped several garrison functions, identified key discrepancies and areas of improvement, and even analyzed and provided tangible solutions. Their work with key members of each directorate has allowed us to develop strategic remediation techniques. This is a bittersweet end, but I look forward to seeing their growth in the future — maybe even here at USAG Fort Hamilton.”
Fort Hamilton’s CUNY Internship Program reflects the Army’s commitment to building pipelines of skilled civilian talent in the New York metropolitan area and exposing the next generation of professionals to the mission and culture of Army installation management.
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2026 19:07 |
| Story ID: | 573410 |
| Location: | BAY RIDGE, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | FORT HAMILTON, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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