This year the CCCE was proud to announce the establishment of the 2016/2017 Sesquicentennial Fellowship, a fund designed to help students pursue passions in community development and advocacy during the summer of 2017.
The fellows are well into their summer work with their respective community partners, and I had a chance to sit down with three fellows to learn more about their positions, hear about their initial impressions as well as their expectations for the rest of the summer.
Lauren Klempton is the Clinical Process Improvement Intern at HealthFinders Collaborative. Despite having volunteered in the past for HealthFinders, Lauren emphasizes that interning is a different experience with much more room for in-depth learning.
“Being an intern is different because I get to see more of how the organization operates behind-the-scenes. So far, I’ve learned about how HealthFinders coordinates a variety of healthcare services for uninsured patients in Rice County, particularly for management of long-term diseases like diabetes and heart disease.”
With her job, she is working primarily to improve how the health and dental clinics are run to enhance their efficiency and improve patient experience
Mary Kate Hall is using the Sesquicentennial funds to pursue two different fellowships; one with the Northfield Arts and Culture Commission and another with the Link Center. With the Arts and Culture Commission, Mary will update and redesign existing project resources such as the online and paper maps of sidewalk poetry locations, audio recordings of the poems, as well as maintaining archives of photos taken of poems throughout the city. In her role Mary will also have a significant opportunity to innovate.
“I am working on integrating new technology and publicity ideas to make the poetry project more accessible, visible, and prominent in the Northfield community and culture.”
At the LINK Center Mary works at the center desk, a position she has volunteered for in the past. The LINK Center connects Northfield community members with resources in Northfield and across Rice County, including health, legal, food, housing, Adult Basic Education, and City/County services. Working at the front desk requires familiarity with a variety of resources to help connect clients with the services they desire and interpret for Spanish-speaking clients when necessary.
“I have been volunteering at the LINK Desk for the past term so I knew what to expect going into this summer, but I remain very excited about the prospects for continuing to help clients here and for improving the LINK Center in the future.”
Lastly, I spoke with Johnny Riechman, a Junior from Texas who is this year’s Sesquicentennial PRIMEtime Fellow. PRIMEtime is a collaboration of organizations in Northfield offering free out-of-school-time programming for students who struggle academically and/or have social, emotional or environmental challenges in their lives.
After a few days on the job, Johnny has already found room for innovation in his position and plans to improve the existing automated system that keeps track of all those interested in volunteering within the Northfield Public School system.