Showcase highlights powerful impact of Community Based Internships
On Monday, January 27, the Center for Campus and Community Engagement (CCCE) hosted Making an Impact: Community Internship Showcase to illustrate how mutually beneficial partnerships can occur through internships. The showcase highlighted three projects that utilized a pilot run of community based internships managed by the CCCE in 2019 with community partners. Those projects were: Audit and Broadband Research with The Mayors Partnership for Progress (MPP), the development of the Lynching of Christopher Davis Exhibit with The Southeast Ohio History Center, and the efforts of the Farm to OHIO team working to increase the amount of local food served at the University.
Mayors Gary Goosman and Steve Patterson drew attention to the limited staff capacity within villages and cities across southeast Ohio and how OHIO student interns can be a resource for work that otherwise might be out of reach. In an eight-week intensive community based summer internship, David Giddens and Conner Kochansky, undergraduates in political science/pre-law, researched auditing processes and broadband access in the region, and created a report that will act as a resource for the MPP in perpetuity. These internships were funded by a mini grant through the Career and Experiential Learning Fee in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences.
“It’s great collaboration,” said Mayor Goosman. “I think the students get a better education by actually seeing real world examples that they are working with. The audit was not just a perfunctory research project, it was something that was really needed. And so, they’re going to benefit a lot more by seeing applications in the real world that are beneficial to communities.”
Next, Jordan Zdinak, a graduate student in history, presented her research that led to the exhibit about the lynching of Christopher Davis at the Southeast Ohio History Center. Through her internship, Jordan was able to uncover new details in Christopher Davis’s story suggesting his innocence and confirming his lack of due process. Brad Davis, collections manager at the Southeast Ohio History Center, spoke to the intrinsic value of local history and how cases like this are catalysts for important conversations today.
Lastly, Tom Redfern, director of Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry at Rural Action, Dr. Theresa Moran, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and Sustainable Living Hub coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, and Margaret Gatonye, graduate student in international studies and the Masters of Science in Environmental Studies program, and Joy Kostansek, graduate student in sociology, presented their work over the past year to increase the amount of locally grown food procured by OHIO Culinary Services. After a year of working with both food producers and Culinary Services, these internships culminated with an $15,000 increase in dollars spent on local food by Ohio University.
Moving forward, the CCCE hopes to secure funding to expand this pilot into an ongoing program opportunity for community organizations and students to contribute a lasting and wide-reaching impact in Southeast Ohio.