Making an Impact: The Public Service Internship Program at Tulane University

Internships are critical for college graduates in today\u27s job market, and offer incredible insight for students who wish to gain experience in a particular field. As Jeffrey Cantor states in his report Experiential Learning in Higher Education: Linking Classroom and Community, higher education institutions must emphasize effective experiential learning programs, opportunities, and techniques that will provide students with the necessary tools to enter the workforce. Tulane\u27s Public Service Internship Program is one example of a successful experiential learning program that allows students to gain professional experience and engage with their local community. Tulane’s Center for Public Service has recognized the need for students to graduate with professional experience before entering the job market, but has taken it a step further and connected it with the university’s tradition of civic and community engagement in order to prepare its students to be active, educated citizens who can meet the challenges of the modern workplace. Tulane’s Public Service Internship Program is unique in the sense that it not only helps connect students with local internship opportunities via resources like the community partner database and the Internship Fair, but it also provides developmental support throughout the student’s internship experience. Through the weekly seminar that students take in conjunction with their internship, students reflect upon their role within the community, critically think about the cultural, socio-political, and environmental factors affecting both individuals and communities, and gain the necessary work experience and skills to succeed after graduation. The presentation will explore some of the most successful public service internships that students have had with organizations in the Greater New Orleans Area. The goal of this poster presentation is for faculty, staff, and students to learn more about the successes and challenges of the program, engage in a dialogue about ways to improve and expand service-learning programs in the future, and provide takeaways if they wish to implement a similar program at their universities