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With the spring term nearing its end, University of Vermont students are gearing up for sunny days, outdoor excursions, and plenty of summer internships. This summer, Catamounts have the chance to go beyond the classroom and put their skills to the test in the Northeast Kingdom.

This past week, the Leahy Center for Rural Partnerships announced its summer’s cohort internship program, The Northeast Kingdom VT Community Resilience Summer Internships, aimed at creating meaningful experiential learning in this rural community. The program – a partnership between the Career Center, the Leahy Institute and the Community Development and Applied Economics Department– focuses on providing internship opportunities for ����̽̽ students while bolstering community resilience efforts in underserved communities.

Now in its second year, the Leahy Institute-funded program will support a cohort of nine interns, each committing to 20 hours per week for eight weeks. These students will be embedded within organizations dedicated to enhancing community resilience across the Northeast Kingdom.

"We went to the Northeast Kingdom, worked with the Center for an Agricultural Economy, and reached out to 40 different organizations," explained the Kristen Andrews, ����̽̽’s Internship Coordinator. "Now we’re working with 9 organizations that will welcome these interns and provide meaningful projects for our students."

The program stipulates that participating interns receive a livable wage for their work. To address this, the Leahy Institute has subsidized wages that these organizations can offer, elevating each internship to $18 per hour. The hope is that students can afford to immerse themselves in the rural community with less of a financial strain.

Thanks to a partnership between ����̽̽ and Sterling College, interns will be provided with free housing on the Sterling College campus during their internships, providing community and safety to participants without impacting housing available to Northeast Kingdom residents.

The program also prioritizes cultural competency training, acknowledging the complex issues prevalent in rural areas such as poverty and substance abuse. Interns undergo comprehensive orientation sessions to familiarize themselves with the community and engage in discussions about their own positionality.

"This initiative isn’t just about providing internships; it's about fostering long-term partnerships between ����̽̽ and rural Vermont communities," Andrews said. “We want students to see what it’s like to live in a rural part of Vermont, to see how the skills they developed at ����̽̽ can serve a local economy outside of Chittenden, and to see how networks in a community work together to build resilience.”

Northeast Kingdom VT Community Resilience Summer Internships are accepting applications through Handshake now, with application links and more information on each position available at the Office of Engagement’s webpage.