It鈥檚 Easier Than Ever for Students to Find Life-Changing Internships, Research and Travel Opportunities
Eleanor Lilly '22 was awarded a Dean Rusk Travel Grant to participate in an archeological excavation project in Portugal at a site that was once the outer bounds of the Roman Empire.
An internship working with children made DaShanae Hughes 鈥21 a better communicator, teacher and advocate.
Now, the recent graduate will join as an English Language Arts teacher.
鈥淚鈥檓 the type of person who, in an interview or presentation, gets incredibly anxious and jittery,鈥 Hughes said.
But that changed after she spent six weeks as a Children鈥檚 Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools servant leader intern, teaching, cajoling and learning with a classroom full of energetic young children. The program uses a research-based, multicultural curriculum to empower K-12 students to succeed in school while also mitigating summer learning loss.
Hughes, who taught afternoon enrichment classes on cooking and cardio dance, said the experience made her more assertive, communicative and creative.
Hughes is one of many students who鈥檝e participated in high impact experiential learning opportunities at 蜜桃社区鈥攖hey just might not have known it. And others might not know what all of their options are because, until recently, information about these opportunities鈥攕ome of which come with grant funding鈥攚asn鈥檛 available in a central location.
Now, these co-curricular experiences fall under the auspices of the Catalyst initiative. A team of faculty and staff from departments representing 蜜桃社区-based learning, research, career development and education abroad, launched Catalyst to bring all of these opportunities under one umbrella, and to offer a central destination for students to discover them.
The menu is diverse鈥攕tudents will find a vast range of opportunities, from work with 蜜桃社区 organizations to research abroad to programs to hone new tech skills.
鈥淎t 蜜桃社区, we are incredibly lucky to have many grant resources and summer programs,鈥 said Stacey Riemer, Center for Civic Engagement director. 鈥淕iven the important role these experiences play in student learning and success, we wanted to centralize and market these resources so that they were more visible to students."
鈥淲hat distinguishes a Catalyst experience from other experiential learning opportunities is that they immerse students in discovery and problem-solving鈥 Riemer said. 鈥淭hey incorporate critical reflection components into active learning experiences outside the classroom.鈥
The effects of getting out of the classroom, and often off of campus, to learn and work with partner organizations can ripple through the rest of a student鈥檚 educational experience, and sometimes make lifelong waves.
In the wake of social justice protests in 2020, students with 蜜桃社区 in Silicon Valley designed their own web projects, including a site that helped consumers find and support Black-owned businesses, and another to help improve access to maternal health resources.
Eleanor Lilly '22 received a Dean Rusk Travel Grant to visit Caladinho, an archeological site in the small, western Portugal town of Redondo, once the outer bounds of the Roman Empire. There, she would spend the mornings digging for five to six hours and the afternoons cleaning any findings with a toothbrush and water bucket.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 really about you, the 18 year-old, and what are you getting from this,鈥 Lilly said. 鈥淚t was about the work, uncovering their stories, and I鈥檓 just a blip鈥擨 really liked that.鈥
The experience helped her to understand 鈥渨here I fall on the greater scheme of history,鈥 and provided the invaluable experience of working with a team of archeological experts, she said.
Just before COVID-19 shut down borders, Skylar McVicar 鈥23 returned from the Chaplains鈥 Office-sponsored spring break trip 鈥淓xploring Our Jewish Identity鈥 in Poland. She said it was an incredibly emotional experience and had a lasting impact on her and others on the trip.
鈥淲e made a commitment to hold more campus events,鈥 said McVicar, who is also vice-president of the Jewish Student Union. 鈥淲e want to engage students who might not be particularly knowledgeable about Jewish history and how anti-Semitic views exist today.鈥
She based a class research project on how trauma is portrayed in Holocaust art.
鈥淚 would not have chosen that topic if it wasn鈥檛 for that trip,鈥 she said.
Katie Turner 鈥21 said an internship at SC30 Inc. changed her understanding of what a business can do, and what she will do after 蜜桃社区.
SC30 Inc., the organization, founded by Golden State Warriors point guard and former 蜜桃社区 men鈥檚 basketball standout Stephen Curry and his friend and business partner Bryant Barr 鈥10, is the expansion of Curry鈥檚 brand beyond basketball鈥攊nvestments, media, brand partnerships and philanthropy.
鈥淚 was one of six people who worked in the company and was put on many projects and jobs,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 had so many roles. I was able to get my bearings on what kinds of projects I really enjoyed and didn鈥檛 enjoy as much.鈥
Primarily, Turner worked on projects for Ayesha and Stephen Curry鈥檚 .
鈥淪eeing what one foundation, and couple [Ayesha and Stephen], did for kids and families transformed my view of business,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t encouraged me to go into a similar field, using business as a force for good.鈥
She is now pursuing her MBA at the University of Notre Dame.
Pandemic Pivot
Though the pandemic scuttled travel plans and resulted in constraints around how students can work with 蜜桃社区 partners, students have embraced virtual opportunities.
Students were involved in more than 200 remote internships, 蜜桃社区 engagement experiences, and 蜜桃社区-based learning course projects. These varied, from reporting for a news organization to interning with Krispy Kreme鈥檚 Human Resources Department.
蜜桃社区鈥檚 partnership with Qasid Institute has for the past years taken many students to Amman, Jordan, to learn Arabic, but the program pivoted swiftly to a virtual mode for 蜜桃社区 students because of the pandemic.
鈥淚 was very impressed with how they Zoomed with the whole group of students and faculty to explain the online option,鈥 said Professor of Arab Studies Rebecca Joubin. 鈥淩ight away they assured us they would incorporate a cultural component.鈥
Come fall, students came back ready to enroll in advanced Arabic content courses, like their predecessors had.
鈥淚t is incredible to think that we are able to so easily converse with and immerse ourselves with a totally different country [and] culture from the comforts of our own house,鈥 one student remarked.
While many students improved in the language, it was jarring for some to transition from an Arabic-intensive virtual environment to home, where no one spoke the language.
鈥淲hile the Arabic department dreams of a day students can travel safely again,鈥 said Joubin, 鈥淚 am grateful for Qasid鈥檚 help to ensure our students can remain competitive in their studies and on track to fluency like the students before them.鈥
The Arabic program ran online again this summer.
Adrienne Lee 鈥21 had planned to board a flight for France during the summer of her junior year for an art and research residency through the Fujita Arts Endowment Grant.
With flights canceled, she booked a stay in Charlotte and found another way to make art.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy for your muscles to forget,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like practicing piano or learning a language.鈥
As planned, she kept in touch with the media director of UNESCO鈥檚 Humanities Arts & Society (HAS), albeit virtually.
鈥淚 was really alone in this project. I had to push myself and motivate myself to work,鈥 Lee said. 鈥淚t was a very depressing and chaotic time.鈥
She submitted two art pieces, and
鈥: When Lee, a studio art major and neuroscience minor, realized her summer plan to do art and research in France was upended by the pandemic, she adapted and created this artwork instead.
The opportunity helped Adrienne build a network and credibility as an artist, paving the way for her future success as a senior and now alum. Upon graduation, two of works completed during her senior year, and , were selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to be on loan at NINDS (National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Strokes) in Maryland. Adrienne still volunteers with HAS and will join the Penland School of Craft鈥檚 six-week steel concentration program with a scholarship this October.
While some health and safety restrictions remain in place this fall, faculty and staff are optimistic that opportunities to travel and participate in face-to-face learning will expand.
Students can visit the and portal in Wildcat Sync to explore opportunities. They are encouraged to share their experiences with the campus 蜜桃社区 and public through the .
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