Miller would know. His first internship turned into his first full-time job.

Now director of development and communications at (known as Wacif, pronounced Way-kif), Miller developed a summer project that matched the skills of intern Austin Hart with the organization’s ongoing needs for market analysis.

Hart, a senior business administration and marketing major at ��ݮ����, is the second (WCSC) student  to intern at Wacif.

“Washington D.C. is a great location for business administration, accounting, marketing and related majors to find internships that suit their professional goals,” said WCSC Director Kimberly Schmidt.

This summer, five other students in business-related majors participated in the program:

• Tariq Caldwell, a business administration major with a human resources management minor from Mechanicsville, Virginia, interned with . He worked in construction project management for the nonprofit affordable housing developer.
• Jazmine Carter, a business administration major with a human resources minor from Fairfax, Virginia, was an assistant in human resources at the headquarters of the , helping to prepare presentations and briefings.
• Joshua Ehlers, an accounting and business administration major from Bluffton University and Defiance, Ohio, worked at , a nonprofit that provides financial literacy and education for low-income D.C. residents.
• Jack Leyda, a business administration and accounting major from Atlanta, Georgia, assisted the CFO at , a public charter school for adults.
• Brianna Zook, a kinesiology and exercise science major with coaching and business administration minors from Harrisonburg, Virginia, interned at .

Studies in D.C. public policy connect to students’ home communities

Vocational guidance and career development is one goal of the WCSC program, which provides programming in fall, spring and summer semesters to students from EMU and other partner schools.

Before even arriving in Washington D.C., accepted students develop their resumes, discuss their professional interests, explore possible internship sites remotely  and participate in phone interviews – a process aided by Schmidt; Professor Ryan Good, assistant director; and program assistant Karlyn Gehring.

The Nelson Good House in the Brookland neighborhood provides accommodations and communal living space, as well as a classroom where students take academic seminars in urban studies and servant leadership – courses which engage students as empowered citizens and future professionals.

“We use this urban environment to help students critically engage ideas of identity, belonging and displacement,” Good said. “We explore how patterns of inequality and development here in Washington, DC affect local communities — and are connected to issues facing the communities our students call home.”

Gaining market analysis skills

During his time at Wacif, Hart went from knowing very little about grants and funding streams to a growing knowledge about how to analyze opportunities in terms of human resource allocation and the potential benefits to business owners and entrepreneurs served by the organization, which promotes equity and economic opportunity in underserved neighborhoods in Washington D.C.

“We had a specific need for this kind of market analysis to inform our development and community strategy over the next few years,” Miller said. “So in this context, that meant applying set criteria to large amounts of data, identifying potential grants that might fit with our organization, making recommendations and getting past obstacles to look for alternate sources of information.”

Hart’s performance on the large and complex project eventually earned accolades from the organization’s top leadership, Miller said, and an honorary place in the “intern hall of fame.”

For his part, Hart appreciated the opportunity to grow as both a person and a professional, and says that the internship has helped him better visualize what future work environment he can see himself in.

Now as he looks for full-time work, Hart has a resume bolstered by his recent internship.

“I’m hopeful,” he says, “that this experience shows to prospective employers that I can step into a position and be successful.”

“There were definitely some lingering questions I had about whether I would be happy doing this in the future,” said Wesp, who juggled the change of major along with his commitment to the EMU Royals baseball team.

It didn’t take long though, once he arrived at ���ѱ�’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center this summer for a 10-week internship with IT firm Tech Impact to see those doubts disappear. Wesp will return for his senior year at EMU with the confidence that the IT field is indeed where his passions and talents lie.

That’s good news for Professor Kimberly Schmidt, who advised Wesp through the internship process, from the application and interview stages in the spring before he even arrived in Washington D.C. through the first hectic weeks of acclimation.

“Riley had a very successful internship and I’m thrilled,” Schmidt said. “His experience strengthens the partnership between Tech Impact and the WCSC.  I look forward to future placements with Tech Impact.”

Working with an EMU alumnus

is one of several companies that have hosted WCSC students for internships in the IT field. In fact, Wesp’s supervisor for the summer was Francis Johnson, a 2007 graduate who also interned at Tech Impact while in the WCSC program. “I came here and never left,” he joked.

Johnson, now based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is Tech Impact’s director of technology services.

The company began in 2003 as a partnership between Microsoft and several foundations to provide IT support for nonprofit clients. From several locations around the country, network technicians and staff help with an array of problems, from troubleshooting to general maintenance. The company also has several successful workforce training programs.

Over the summer, Wesp experienced the entire range of ways that technicians interact with clients from providing consultations by phone and Skype, to routing in remotely or making on-site visits.

A self-proclaimed “outgoing guy,” Wesp says he didn’t have any challenges with those interactions, but benefited from learning and practicing communication skills in a professional environment.

In just a short time, Wesp says he’s acquired “a ton” of new knowledge and the confidence to pursue both his final year of studies and a future in the profession.

“Working here has solidified that this is what I want to do in the future,” Wesp said. “I’ve loved it here and I’ve loved the people I’ve worked with. Every day, I learn something new. Now I can definitely see myself doing this 20 years down the road.”

Vocational guidance

The WCSC program is one way of fulfilling ���ѱ�’s cross-cultural requirement, but students also complete 14 units on topics related to vocational preparation and urban studies. Schmidt, along with Professor Ryan Good, teach courses and also mentor students in their new workplace environment. Program Assistant Karlyn Gehring is also an important contributor to day-to-day operations.

“One of our program goals is supporting the internship experience by facilitating reflection and engagement around where students want to go professionally, how they can get there, and what values they want to have shape those decisions,” Good said.

Wesp says he’s “definitely grown as a person,” stretched by the challenges of living with 13 other students in the Nelson Good House. Sharing a room with another student, and living with 11 more, has pushed him towards a greater awareness of what living in community means.

“I’ve really learned to pay attention, to work at understanding what people need and want so it can be better situation for all of us,” he said. One lasting memory, he said, is the two-day program retreat to Harper’s Ferry – a time to relax away from the city and “bond together” in ways he hadn’t expected.

A complete list of summer 2018 participants is here.

The 44-year-old bilingual producer collaborates with young, talented and eager consultants to create products for diverse clientele, from consulting groups, corporations and businesses to nonprofits such as the Latino Economic Development Center, the Avance Center, and the Alzheimer’s Association.

Mentoring young people, especially those with interest and aspirations in digital media, has always been important to Villalba, from his initial work as a youth substance abuse counselor to his current communications business.

“A long time ago, someone asked me what my best job would be and I said, ‘working with young people and making films,’ and here I am years later” he said. “I opened myself up to the universe and the universe has blessed me.”

Connecting with Villalba has also been a blessing for ��ݮ����’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC), says program director Kimberly Schmidt.

The WCSC program hosts students in the fall, spring and summer from EMU and partnering institutions. Students gain work experience in internships at sites located around the city while earning a full course load of credits, engaging with urban culture and history and living together in an intentional community.

Read more about WCSC summer 2018 participants.

“With a growing number of visual and communication arts majors participating in our program and looking for quality internships with supervisors who provide mentorship and support, we have benefited immensely from Ricardo’s willingness to invite our students into his work,” she said. “He serves diverse communities and those interactions provide valuable learning experiences for our students.”

Practicing diverse production skills

Julian Bussells, a senior digital media major at EMU, was the latest student to benefit from an internship with the company. He had a wide range of responsibilities, including “going out to events to shoot video, editing videos to specifications, and also building and updating websites,” he said. “Sometimes the work was overwhelming because there was a bunch of tasks, but I have enjoyed the challenge.”

During this summer’s WCSC program, two other students participated in related internships. Rances Rodriguez was a documentary photographer and videographer for the, which offers arts education to several hundred low-income K-12 students through a wide array of programming. Stephen Sheppard, a double-major in digital media and business administration, created and taught design and photography projects in support of a youth summer arts and peacebuilding program at the (LAYC).

Interns at all three sites experienced cross-cultural immersion in their professional environments, working with participants and clientele, Schmidt said. Both Washington Digital Media and LAYC organizations serve predominantly Latinx populations, while Sitar serves low-income students from diverse populations. “These are valuable cross-cultural immersion experiences,” she said.

Villalbas, Bussell’s supervisor at Washington Digital Media, also has strong connections to LAYC, where Sheppard interned.

What one may think of an unlikely place for one’s talents to emerge is actually “where the universe opens doors,” Villalbas says. He benefited as a high school student from LAYC programs and later returned there as a substance abuse counselor. That position led to a creative public-service-style, youth-oriented video series and later a fundraising video for LAYC, both of which circulated to some notoriety and eventually led to his current business.

Bussells’ experience at Washington Digital Media has confirmed his future career choice (his dream job is to work on movie sets) and helped to give him an idea of working with and for clients – quite a different experience than producing a finished product for a grade, he said. “I’ve enjoyed doing meaningful projects for paying clients, which has given me an idea of what it takes to succeed in the video production business.”

Fun with young artists, photobombs and earning trust

Rodriguez spent his 10-week internship hustling around the center, dodging musical instruments, dancers, singers, paintbrushes and even other digital cameras, as he sought to document the Sitar Center’s ambitious summer programming. Once the children got to know him, they were eager to share their creations, to pose for photos and sometimes even – of course – photobombs.

“I’ll take a group photo and there will always be this one kid making a silly face and I’ll have to say, ‘ok, one more,’” Rodriguez said.

He’s also collected footage chronicling the mural arts program and its participants, as well as the center’s annual musical production (this year, it was “Seussical”) that his supervisor says will be used for fundraising and recruitment efforts.

Storytelling is his passion, Rodriguez says, and he has enjoyed learning how to work with people, in this case kids, to get the most authentic images that will tell a powerful narrative – a skill he’ll take back to EMU with him for his senior year, and beyond.

A campus culture that “respects students’ right to protest” – that nurtures both students and the social movements they create, and embraces student activism as being the result of new knowledge at the core of liberation – benefits the entire community, said Hinojosa, a professor of history at Texas A & M. In their activism, students think critically, lead outside the classroom, practice civic engagement, and develop a greater sense of social responsibility.

Hinojosa’s August 14 address on the conference theme of “Being or Becoming a Third Way University” began the two-day event’s broader discussions around campus engagement, civic collaboration and diversity and inclusion, goals that are articulated in the university’s strategic plan.

“Dr. Hinojosa’s address was a helpful invitation as we anticipate the return of students to campus,” said Provost Fred Kniss. “Cultivating students’ abilities to engage with the world is central to our mission, and as an institution we can also learn from their desires for change.”

Conferences an annual tradition

���ѱ�’s faculty-staff conferences bookend each academic year, with the fall event providing gathering in fellowship and renewal of the community’s common purpose and goals.

Braydon Hoover, director of development and annual giving and frequent conference emcee, pointed out that common vision in his welcome: “We’re all here for the exact same purpose … to prepare every single one of our students to distinctively serve and lead in a global context,” he said. “Whether you coach on the grass or you cut it, whether you teach 18-year-olds or students a little older, whether you work remotely or right here on campus, whether you took a break this summer or work diligently all year round, and even whether you hail from the titular religious tradition or another completely different, we – all of us – are EMU.”

The event included workshop sessions, worship and fellowship opportunities, and what’s become an annual favorite, “Storytelling,” featuring members of the campus community sharing about their journeys to, towards or within the EMU community. Fall storytellers included professors Johonna Turner and Esther Tian; Jasmine Hardesty, director of development and planned giving; and Scott Barge, vice president of institutional effectiveness.

The event was also a forum for announcements about the upcoming academic year, including the observance of MLK Day with extensive service and learning opportunities replacing scheduled classes.

Keynote speaker calls for empowering synergy

Hinojosa knows what it means to envision a different university. While a student at Fresno Pacific University in California, he joined student movements to encourage the hiring of more diverse faculty and expansion of the curriculum and academic programs.

“How could a university in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, surrounded by a large Latinx population and located in an area that gave birth to the greatest and most successful farm workers civil rights movement, not teach a course on this?” he said.

The synergy between his own student activism and intellectual engagement – the “growth of political consciousness and understanding of history,” his own and his people’s – was both personally empowering and beneficial to the campus community.

Now a tenured professor of history at Texas A&M University, Hinojosa also directs the history department’s undergraduate studies and is co-founder and co-director of the Latina/o Studies Working Group sponsored by the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research.

Sharing his pedagogical philosophy that asks “So what? Now what?” with his students in courses about social movements, Latinx history, gender, comparative race and ethnicity, Hinojosa has become a resource, guide and mentor to diverse student activists.

This role – and the work of activism itself – is “messy” and “chaotic,” but “more important than ever,” he said.

In considering the role of the “third way university,” Hinojosa noted the history of socially progressive Christians. While “distorted forms of Christianity got the most play,” they quietly went to work in communities around the world.

“A third way university must build on this radical tradition,” he said.

In response to a question from Director of Multicultural Services Celeste Thomas, Hinojosa elaborated on additional ways of supporting black and brown students in the predominantly white university setting: listening to the voices and perspectives of marginalized students, hiring diverse and/or culturally competent faculty and staff, providing safe community spaces for these students, and prioritizing issues and the history of diverse communities in curriculum and academic programs.

Beyond the keynote

Afternoon breakout sessions offered faculty and staff opportunities to learn more about distinctive programs that link to core values of ���ѱ�’s mission and vision.  

Various restorative justice initiatives and programs were highlighted in a special session hosted by professors Johonna Turner and Carl Stauffer, who co-direct the housed in the . Jon Swartz, associate dean of students, talked about restorative justice as it relates to the campus community and highlighted the growth, and growing interest, in RJ-related trainings. Meg Sanders, director of ���ѱ�’s Graduate Teacher Education program, spoke about the new master’s degree and graduate certificate in restorative justice, as well as the integration of RJ principles and practices into professional training courses offered by the university.

Director Kimberly Schmidt presented on the , ���ѱ�’s Washington D.C.-based program offering cross-cultural urban studies, internship and community living experience. She was joined by Associate Director Ryan Good and Program Assistant Karlyn Gehring.

Doug Graber Neufeld presented on the , a collaborative initiative of ��ݮ����, Goshen College and Mennonite Central Committee to lead Anabaptist efforts to respond to the challenges of climate change. Neufeld, a biology professor at EMU, directs the center.

“I’ll see you later today,” she promises a woman in a wheelchair.

“Have you been knitting? Are you ready for class?” she says a few minutes later to another, then confides that she’s recently met the woman’s daughter, who came on a special visit just to meet her.

Gallagher’s 10-week internship is just one aspect of summer participation at the Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC), a program also offered during fall and spring semesters by ��ݮ���� (EMU). Bluffton University students share a house in Washington D.C. with students from EMU and other partner universities, take a full load of coursework, explore life in the nation’s capital, and delve into a chosen professional field.

The program has been in Washington D.C. since 1976. Some internship sites have partnered with EMU since that time and those internships have often led to both job opportunities after graduation and even career positions.

“Historically, social work majors have been the bread and butter of the WCSC,” says Director Kimberly Schmidt. “We have expanded and have strong options for students from other majors but even I find the sheer breadth of our social work practicum site options a little staggering.”

WCSC faculty and staff lay important groundwork before and during the internship, talking with both the student and the supervisor about internship and career goals to ensure the time in Washington is well-spent. The topic of career development is also considered in a course titled “Servant Leadership in the Urban Setting” that helps students consider their future profession in terms of their personal values and faith.

Students benefit from career development guidance

When she first applied to WCSC, Gallagher worked with program assistant Karlyn Gehring to develop her resume, then with advisor Professor Ryan Good to find the right internship site. Good and Schmidt help walk students through the application and interview process for internships before they arrive, and then offer vocational guidance throughout the summer.

Gallagher, a psychology and sociology major from , had worked as a hospitality aide for a year and half at a smaller facility back home in Marengo, Ohio, and was seriously considering a career in geriatrics.

Carroll Manor is a large nursing and rehabilitation facility that serves approximately 240 clients, “mostly low-income seniors of color, a population reflective of demographics in northeast D.C.,” Schmidt says.

Working at a large-scale facility like Carroll Manor has helped confirm what kind of work environment Gallagher prefers – “smaller is better,” she said, “because I want more time to get to know people” – and a possible next move.

At Carroll Manor, her supervisor was one of five licensed social workers in the entire facility – and Gallagher says she observed that the certification, and eventually the earning of a master’s in social work degree, would create more possibilities and options for her future.

“I’m seriously thinking about social work licensure,” she said, when asked about her next steps. “And possibly going to graduate school after I gain some experience.”

Supervisor Vickie Merlo had only good things to say about Gallagher. Working in a facility that serves elderly and infirm residents, some of whom suffer from dementia, is a challenging environment that requires empathy, flexibility and patience.

Gallagher radiates calmness and confidence in her interactions with patients. “Her enthusiasm and just general good spirits are a real asset here,” Merlo said. “We have certain patients who have problems with dementia and behavior who take lots of attention, and Shanon has been a godsend. She’s excellent at approaching people and saying hello and introducinge herself; she just warms up to people easily.”

Intern finds her niche

That trust has resulted in an internship that provided plenty of space for Gallagher to find her niche, which has included one-on-one time with special residents needing more attention, some paperwork duties and the planning and implementation of activities, among other responsibilities.

Even though she has little experience with knitting, Gallagher started the Maple Way Floor Six Crochet Club, which meets twice a week for about an hour. To do that, she found a local expert:  “There’s a lady who really knows what she’s doing, so I’ve pulled her in and asked her to help and I just figure it out along with everyone else,” Gallagher said.

Both Merlo and Gallagher hope the crochet club continues after her internship concludes, but without the cheerful presence of this young intern, that might be tough.

“I’m definitely going to miss this place when this is over,” Gallagher said. “Leaving is going to be tough.”

 

“Without interns and volunteers,” said one supervisor at the Catholic Charities Refugee Service Center, “we can’t run the program.”

Located in the nation’s capital since 1976, WCSC has cultivated partnerships with internship sites for decades. The program works to match participants with internships that not only fit their majors and areas of interest, but also help them engage with and support the broader DC community. The process of carefully matching students with internship sites means that each semester includes new partnerships and helps to build upon an expanding network of connections between EMU and local DC organizations that hold similar values to the university and its students.

This semester, the program placed three students at new partner organizations. Senior Abby Musser is interning at the media outlet Just Vision, which reports on peaceful engagement in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Senior Jonatan Moser is assisting at Catholic Charities’ Refugee Service Center offering resources to asylees. Sophomore Gabby McMillon is working with Voices for a Second Chance, which supports those affected by the criminal justice system.

As all three students are experiencing this semester, carefully chosen internships offer new perspectives on potential careers in their areas of study.

“I’m really enjoying learning the practical side of nonprofits and media. [Internships] are a good way to see if this is something I want to pursue later,” Musser said. She helps the organization find venues to showcase their documentaries, which highlight Israeli and Palestinian leaders who are collectively working to end the conflict and create a future of freedom and equality for all living in the region.

Her supervisor, Daniel Nerenberg, also takes it upon himself to foster practical learning. “You can be preparing [interns] for the possibility of future work,” he notes, explaining how the research and organizational skills that interns learn at Just Vision help them to thrive in work environments on the larger scale.

These insights into organizational structures and natural workflows are practical skills that transfer across disciplines and beyond the classroom.  At the Catholic Charities Refugee Service Center where he mans the front desk, Moser is not only practicing critical social work skills to fulfill his major’s practicum requirement, but also acts as the front line for the organization.  A highlight of his work is seeing the surprise in Spanish-speaking clients’ faces when he responds to them in their native language. These clients include asylees, refugees and victims of human trafficking.

The goal of the Refugee Service Center is to help clients find jobs and navigate the American work culture so that they can resettle and rebuild their lives. Moser has also been tasked with a new project for the organization. He is researching how to help the children of these clients enter and find success in the local school system.

McMillon has also received a crash-course in navigating new work environments and social spheres. At Voices for a Second Chance, she assists with administrative work and helps to connect the organization with other community partners and potential grants. She also shadows their social workers. The non-profit provides case management for inmates, resources for families affected by incarcerated members, and reentry support for those who have been through the criminal justice system.

This environment offers “the chance to confront a lot of your biases and to interact with people you wouldn’t otherwise at all,” McMillon said. “Coming from a place of privilege, especially as college students, you learn the cultural competency you need and are guided through the process.”

From Program Director Margot Kirkland-Isaac’s perspective, interns play a vital role in the culture of their small non-profit. “Especially with younger staff [interns], they know things us older staff don’t know and they’re often very techie” she joked, then added on a more serious note that interns bring “new and fresh ideas, new eyes, new perspectives and new ways of thinking outside the box and strategizing.”

Several times in the past year, Kirkland-Isaac and her co-workers reached out to the WCSC looking for interns with interest in the criminal justice system. McMillon was a good fit: She came to the program with interests in engaging with societal issues and inequities that she’d been discussing in academic courses for her peacebuilding and development major.

This relationship highlights the reciprocal role that interns and organizations can have when carefully matched.  It demonstrates the WCSC’s objective to match the unique interests and developing skills of incoming interns with organizations such as Voices for a Second Chance, Catholic Charities and Just Vision that rely on and offer meaningful opportunities for interns.