University President Richard Levin promised in November that Yale would help New Haven public school students reach their “full potential,” and this summer, two Yale students will do so through the President’s Public Service Fellowship.
New Haven Promise — a partnership between the city of New Haven and Yale that provides college tuition to New Haven public school students — is offering two summer internships, in which Yalies will research New Haven public schools and help pilot a college preparation program. The internships will be a part of the President’s Fellowship, which places Yale students with community organizations for eight to 11 weeks of service work.
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“I’m looking for really qualified, hardworking people who are excited about what the district is doing in terms of education reform and understand New Haven Promise and are really excited about the program,” said Emily Byrne, the director of New Haven Promise.
Byrne said one intern will be working directly with her on “special projects” while the other will be working on developing a college preparation program for students called the CollegeCorps. Fellowship director Erin Johnson said these tasks will consist of tracking stakeholders in New Haven Promise, evaluating public school data and reviewing the general activities and goals of the program.
The CollegeCorps intern will likely be training volunteers within schools and helping high school students with essay skills and college applications, Johnson said.
Yale College Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeff Brenzel said he plans to help out with CollegeCorps, but the organizational meetings for the program are still to come. CollegeCorps will be up and running by the summer, Byrne said.
“We’re in the process of designing it now,” she said.
Fellows receiving the President’s Public Service Fellowship work with a variety of organizations in the New Haven area, ranging from CitySeed, which runs four farmers’ markets in different neighborhoods, to the Connecticut Mental Health Foundation, which is designing a micro-lending program for people recovering from mental health and substance abuse problems. To host an intern through the President’s Fellowship, New Haven organizations must submit an application request to the Office of New Haven and State Affairs at Yale, Johnson said.
The New Haven Promise internships will fall under the “Working with and Managing Programs for Children and Youth” category of President’s Fellowship placement. New Haven Promise is not looking for applicants from a specific class year or area of study — Byrne said the only prerequisite is enthusiasm for the project.
“I am excited to offer two intern positions for the program because I think that the Presidential Public Service Fellowship is a great program, and usually there are high-quality candidates,” she said.
As interns with the fellowship, Yale students both work in organizations around the city and participate in structured group activities with one another, Johnson said.
The fellowship typically receives between 250 and 275 applications annually and accepts around 35 students. Undergraduate and graduate students can apply. The deadline for this year’s application cycle is Jan. 20.