Fellowships to Fund 26 Summer Internships

Author: Mallika Rao

As some Middlebury students desperately hunt the job market and contemplate a coffee- or copy-making summer, 26 winners of the Ron H. Brown '62 and Felton Family Internship Grants are left to enjoy the prospect of a productive and partially or completely funded three months. These juniors and seniors will be living across the globe, from Ghana to Alaska, and working in fields ranging from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to the Military Affairs Bureau.
The shared purposes of both the Ronald H. Brown Class of 1962 Summer Internship Program and the Felton Family Summer Internship Fund Program are to "integrate liberal learning and career awareness, create linkages between academic work and the world of work outside [and] to increase the visibility of Middlebury College among employers and other institutions."
Funds generated from both programs go solely to unpaid interns in any career industry.
The Ronald H. Brown Fund was initiated in 1987 through the 25th reunion gift of the Class of 1962 to Middlebury College. It is named after a member of the class, and since its inception has allowed 133 Middlebury College juniors (currently '04 or '03.5) to explore a connection between their academic and career interests. The more recent Felton program, established in 2000, is sustained by the Robert Felton family and is open to first-years, sophomores and juniors.
Students submit proposals and, if selected, are expected to "secure, perform and evaluate an internship that meets the proposal's objectives." Aside from final self-evaluations, internship evaluations and weekly journals, recipients of the Ronald H. Brown fund must help in promoting the fund through either a newsletter article, information session or any other means approved by the Career Services Office (CSO).
The internship, to take place between the end of the spring semester and beginning of the fall semester, must entail at least 300 hours of service.
Participants in this year's Ronald H. Brown '62 Summer Internship Program include Johannes Adomako-Mensah '04, Claire Bourne '04, Jessica Brozyna '03, Timothy Connolly '04, Andrew Feinberg '04, Emily Foote '04, Lindsay Gardner '03, Bernadette Gunn '04, Yared Gurmu '04, Edith Honan '03, Colin Lewis-Beck '04, John McKinley '04, Lauren Miller '04, Elizabeth Moore '03, Mari Overbeck '04, Dorothy Resig '04, Andrew Savage '03, Cynthia Scott '04, Alexa Varriano '04, Venessa Wong '04 and Rui Bing Zheng '04. These students have chosen various internships and will each receive $3,000.
The five Felton Family Summer Internship Program recipients, Amer Barghouth '05, Leah Koenig '04, Christopher Loeffler '04, Dena Simmons '05 and Sara Stranovsky '04.5, are each awarded $2,000.
The two selection committees consist of faculty and staff members appointed by the CSO's Assistant Director of Internships Claire Tetrault.
They consider the quality of each proposal and the extent to which it addresses the purpose of the endowment.
It is hoped that each student will follow in the spirit of his or her proposal and not only realize career goals, but increase the visibility of Middlebury College in the process.
"I feel extremely fortunate to have been selected as a Ron Brown Fellow," said Wong, "because I think that Middlebury students have great opportunities and it is wonderful that the College can assist them financially."