Fifteen interns receive summer stipends

Lilly Funds make experiences possible

 

Aug. 4, 2010--Fifteen Trine University students engaged in summer internships funded in part by experiential learning stipends issued by the Office of Career Services through a Lilly Endowment grant geared to lead to Indiana employment for talented Hoosier graduates.

To make internships and co-op education more affordable, the grant provided scholarships of $2,500 to each student to cover relocation, housing, travel, books, supplies, equipment and other living expenses associated with in-state experiential learning opportunities arranged by Trine’s employer outreach coordinator, David McDonald.

The number of students taking advantage of the stipends this summer pleased McDonald. “This was the largest award period, with over 40 students applying for the stipends,” he said.

Trine sport management major Kyle Kleiman oversees a Scout event as part of his summer internship with the South Bend Silver Hawks.

He has plenty of stories about the funds enabling Trine students to enrich their education with internships or co-ops. “Sport management major Kyle Kleiman was doing an unpaid internship with the South Bend Silver Hawks. He lived an hour away from his job, had to be accessible for 12-16 hour days and would have had to pay for housing,” McDonald said. “The stipend enabled him to complete the internship because it paid for his summer housing.”

“I would have not been able to take an unpaid internship this summer if not for the stipend,” Kleiman said. “I was able to complete a major-related internship in the location I desired.”

Civil engineering major Samantha Wellman connected with an unpaid internship with Indiana Bridge-Midwest Steel Inc. an hour from her home. The stipend covered her summer fuel costs, allowing her to take advantage of the valuable learning experience.

“The stipend was actually my salary for my internship,” Wellman said. “The company itself did not have the funds to pay me, so without this stipend I would not have received any payment for my work.”

The scholarships will be offered to main campus Trine students both upcoming semesters. To be eligible, students must be registered for an internship of three or more credits, an engineering internship or a full-time co-op. The experiential learning experience must encompass at least 112 work hours with an Indiana employer located outside a 50-mile radius of the students’ permanent homes. Scholarship recipients cannot receive a housing allowance from the employer.

To apply, students must register at www.trinecareers.org. Directions for registering at www.trinecareers.org are on the Career Services home page at www.trine.edu. An essay and application must be e-mailed to mcdonaldd@trine.edu. The application deadline for fall semester is Friday, Sept. 17.