The Becker Career Center recently announced the recipients of the community service internships at non-profit organizations this summer. They are:
Class of 1973 Community Service Internship Funding Recipients
An endowed internship supported by the Class of 1973 in honor of their 35th Class Reunion
Deshon Burgess ‘17
College AIM (Achievement. Inspiration. Moxie.) in Decatur, Ga.
Burgess, a psychology and anthropology major, will help prepare high school students from underrepresented backgrounds for taking college entrance exams and completing admissions applications with the goal of getting first-generation college students “to and through school.” He said: “Having someone assist them who has already experienced it will be comforting and inspiring for the rising scholars. I have found my true passion, and this summer opportunity will be the start of my long, insightful journey of providing advocacy for underprivileged communities.”
Chrissy Craig ‘19
Kenosha Area Family and Aging Services in Kenosha, Wis.
Craig will be interning with a social service agency promoting healthy families, healthy aging and a healthy community in her home state. Craig, a pre-med student majoring in physics, is unsure about the population with which she wants to work in the future, but will interact with a diverse group of individuals including the elderly to help “ward off dementia and other degenerative health conditions.” She said: “This program could really allow me to make a difference in these elderly’s lives and help make change in the Kenosha area.”
Audrey Hunt ’17
Heritage Christian Services in East Rochester, N.Y.
Hunt will be supporting children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a pre-med student majoring in neuroscience, this internship will provide her the opportunity to work in a long-term care facility that offers a diverse range of services and builds communities of awareness and inclusion. She said: “They have worked to develop a place of equality and compassion, and it is an organization that I highly respect and am honored to join.”
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Mohammad A. Omar ’94 Memorial Community Service Internship Funding Recipient
An endowed internship supported by alumni of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Lindsey Sepe ‘17
Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center in Yonkers, N.Y.
Sepe will be providing care and support to children with profound physical and mental handicaps, some with terminal illnesses. She said: “After briefly volunteering last summer, I am eager to return to the home of these very special children who sent me home with a big smile each time that I visited. It is my ultimate goal to try to improve the patients’ quality of life. I think I will serve to boost positive social experiences among the patients while simultaneously being a big help to the medical staff.” Sepe, a psychology major, is planning a future in art therapy, and will work alongside the head art therapist as well with the goal of using her “artistic abilities to foster the creative process of others to help them psychologically.”
Roger H. Hull Summer Community Service Internship Funding Recipient
An endowed internship supported by the Board of Trustees
Christina Belforti ’17 and Lily Suhanovsky '17
Head Start in Schenectady, N.Y.
This summer, Belforti and Suhanovsky will be interning with children, families and teachers at the Schenectady Community Action Program Head Start Early Learning Center. By creating interactive, fun activities focused on literacy, nutrition, and physical and mental health, they hope to improve the quality of infant and toddler child care for low-income families and promote the physical, social, emotional, cognitive and language development of young children. In addition, they hope to provide awareness, prevention and wellness information to families that will continue to enhance the local community they now call home.
David J. Bigda Summer Internship Funding: Political, Social, Environmental Activism Recipients
A funded internship supported by the family of (including an alumna) David J. Bigda
Sara Halsey ’17
Audubon Connecticut in Greenwich, Conn.
Halsey will be contributing her efforts at Audubon Connecticut to support conservation and restoration efforts focused on wildlife habitats and flora and fauna. Halsey, a classics and environmental policy double major, will be working with invasive plant species, promoting native plant species, and working with GIS to more accurately survey and map the property. She said: “I will be directly involved in fieldwork that works toward the protection of birds and their habitats. Birds are indicator species, and therefore show the health of an ecosystem. As our climate is changing and humans have a continually expanding impact on the environment, it is crucial to protect habitats for all species.”
Gillian Henry ’17
National Organization for Women in Washington, D.C.
Henry will be working for the National Organization for Women, working as a part of the group’s political action committee gaining hands-on experience supporting NOW issues. Given that this is a presidential election year, she will be supporting efforts to endorse candidates that align with NOW’s mission statement and further their progressive goals. Her projects will focus on processing endorsement requests, researching candidates’ records on women’s rights issues, and working on Get out the Vote measures for the Ms. President NOW Campaign. Gillian states, “Most importantly, I look forward to participating in this internship because the issue of women’s equality is so important to me and I am extremely passionate about learning more about it and being able to work towards it.”
James Molloy ’17
Trout Unlimited in Maine and New York
Molloy, a geology major, will be supporting conservation efforts in Maine and New York. In Maine, he will be contributing to a project in collaboration with the Maine Audubon to survey ponds and collect data to support the state acquisition and protection of land areas with native brook trout ponds. In New York, he will be conducting geomorphic surveys of rivers and streams to enhance stream stability and channel health. He said: “I am looking forward to accomplishing actual conservation and restoration tasks. The surveys I will help with will be used to design modifications to the rivers to make them more geologically stable and better habitat for cold-water biology.”