In the summer of 2021, 20 UNC Asheville students participated in the SECU Public Fellows program, working full-time jobs and using their liberal arts education to benefit high-quality nonprofit and government organizations focused on improving life in rural North Carolina for a diverse array of residents. Now in its second year, the program provided UNC Asheville a $100,000 grant to fund the internships, and is designed to connect interested, talented undergraduate students with local leadership in order to obtain meaningful on-the-job experience with a local agency or organization, while providing a unique learning opportunity to allow students to give back to his or her community.
Learn more about the SECU Public Fellows and hear about their experiences in their own words:
I am a junior majoring in Psychology, with a Neuroscience minor. I am a part of the Aspiring Healthcare Professionals group, and through them I was able to volunteer with the MAHEC vaccine clinic this semester. I also have been volunteering on and off with Bounty & Soul (located in our home town of Black Mountain) throughout the last year and a half, creating a donation drop off box located at our market, writing love notes for the food boxes at night, as well as partnering with them to donate bulk grains and legumes through the market, as well as offering breads and produce that we could no longer sell. I was a part of a couple of bake sales this past year, raising funds for My Daddy Taught me That, as well as For the Culture Magazine. And a separate fundraiser through Flora where I was able to help raise funds for the Dogwood Alliance.
Through the Aspiring Healthcare Professionals group I learned about the rural initiatives program offered with MAHEC. When I saw that MAHEC was a site with the SECU internship program, not to mention in the psychiatry department, as well as that the internship was paid -- I was inspired to apply. I interviewed with 5 different sites before interviewing with MAHEC, and the experience with the prior interviews helped me to be even more prepared for the MAHEC interview. I am interested in this site because it will give me real world experience within the psychiatry field and help me to better understand where I need to direct my attention as I continue my education. I am excited to be around people practicing in various areas of the field, hopefully getting to hear their perspectives on their career, as well as any guidance they may have for the path ahead. I am also excited to gain more research experience, more clinical administrative experience, as well as to help collect survey data for the SAMHSA hotline, giving me something close to the experience of working with patients and clients.
Hello! My name is Abby Sgan and I am a rising sophomore at UNCA. I am currently majoring in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Earth Science and a minor in Atmospheric Science. I will be working on campus next semester as a UNCA Career Center career peer helping to advise students and assist with career center functions as well. I decided to be a part of the SECU Public Fellows Internship Program because I had been involved with the State Employees Credit Union before for a scholarship opportunity and I was very excited about the opportunity to continue to be involved with them by doing something meaningful in my community. My internship site, Conserving Carolina, interests me because I have a strong passion for environmental protection and conservation and their efforts and core message align with my passion for those issues. I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue working with SECU and to begin working with Conserving Carolina!
My name is Kayla Kessel and I’m a senior graduating in the fall semester of 2021. I’m majoring in psychology with a minor in neuroscience. My concentration is relationship counseling and color psychology. I’m currently a mentor in the Legacy program which provides support for women of color on campus. I am also the vice president of UNCA Women in STEM which is why I’m interested in helping young girls and women further their passions for STEM fields through working with Girl Scouts Peaks to Piedmont Organization. As I was in Girl Scouts for the majority of my adolescence, I have a unique connection to this organization and am proud to be part of an initiative to have more women in STEM professions.
Hi! My name is Tim Kinsey and I will be a senior in college in the fall. I am a History/Political Science major with a concentration in History and a Middle/High School Education minor and Warren Wilson and I take courses at UNC Asheville. I am involved on campus in a couple of ways. I am a tutor with the AVID tutor program. I am also involved in a college consortium agreement that allows me to take the classes I need to prepare for my professional year where I will get my teaching license. I found out about the SECU program through the AVID tutor program. I thought it would be a great opportunity to have a really cool job that would also be a great addition to my resume. I'm very interested in my internship site because it focuses on conserving the french broad river which is something I grew up on (whitewater kayaking). I am also very interested in the fact that they teach lessons to elementary school students in summer school. I think this will be a very good opportunity for me to apply the things i've learned in my education classes.
My name is Lizbeth Rivas and I am a rising senior at UNC Asheville. I am a Business Management major with a minor in Sociology. I have been a Student Ambassador for 3 years, I work at the Key Center on campus, I am a part of Prospanica and a member of H.E.A.L as well. I decided to be a part of the SECU Public Fellows Internship program because it was an opportunity to immerse myself in the Asheville community while being able to utilize my skills, gain new experiences and expand my network. What interested me the most about CIMA (Compañeros Inmigrantes de las Montañas en Acción), was the way that they not only serve the Latinx/Hispanic community in Western North Carolina, but they did it in a way that created a family like community. I also loved that they are not an organization that depends on just themselves but is a link in a chain of organization that work together to empower the Hispanic/Latinx community.
Hi, I’m Mariah Martin. I am a rising sophomore in the 2021 school year. My major is Classics with a concentration in Classical Civilization. In the coming year, I plan to become more involved in campus activities because of the ability to be more involved in person. I decided to be a part of the SECU Public Fellows Internship program because I want to become more involved with the community. The YMCA of Western North Carolina because of their involvement with fundraising from their donors and the many things they do throughout the community that I was not aware of. I am very excited to work with their organization this summer.
I’m Lauren Garner, and I am a rising senior at UNC at Asheville. I’m an Honors student, with a dual major in Psychology and Spanish. My involvement on campus has been as a volunteer English tutor for ELL (English Language Learners) students in the fall semester of 2020. I’m also a member of Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology, as well as Omicron Delta Kappa National Honor Society in Leadership. I decided to pursue an intern position with the SECU Public Fellows Internship Program to become more involved in the surrounding communities, to gain professional experience, as well as to further my Spanish speaking abilities. I’m extremely fortunate to have been placed with NC FarmLink, given that they are working with me on integrating both the SECU internship with my Spanish internship. In this regard, I’m excited for the impactful work that I will be doing in my time with NC FarmLink, as our team is looking to broaden our outreach within communities to be more diverse among the many populations across North Carolina. Not only am I looking forward to implementing more diversity and accessibility in resources allocated within this incredible program, but I am also looking forward to celebrating the already earned successes of program members with success stories that are to be published across multimedia platforms.
I am involved in the Community Engagement Office acting as the Community Engagement Project Coordinator. We work together in partnership with the YMCA to hold an afterschool program called Discover UNCA. The program is held for low-income students that attend middle school in the surrounding area. In addition to this, I am a mentor with the LEGACY Program and am working with and mentoring women of color on campus. We work to create an engaging sense of community while promoting educational resources, addressing societal issues and stigmas, touching on financial literacy, and overcoming personal barriers. Lastly, I work with the Admission Office as a Student Ambassador.
I decided to be a part of the SECU Public Fellowship Program to observe the work environment of my interests and gain experience working with different organizations. I wanted to dive into the operations of non-profit and small business organizations to better understand and reach a decision of what kinds of opportunities are available to me.
My internship site interests me because they handle the inner workings of small businesses’ literacy and education. They handle loan lending, coaching, and education regarding the operation of a small business.
My name is Kiah Dale and I’m a rising junior majoring in Political Science. I’m currently a Junior Senator in SGA and a part of Legacy. I have worked on two theater productions done by the UNCA Drama Department and last winter I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer for Pisgah Legal Services as a Screening Volunteer which later caused me to join the SECU internship program to further my volunteer and professional experience. I’m really excited to work at ASAP Connections to learn more about sustainability and supporting local farms which is something I have been interested in but never seemed to look into.
Hi, I'm Katherine! I am a senior in environmental science with a concentration in ecology and a bio minor. I am not currently involved with any on campus groups, but I like to attend Prohispanica and ACE events, and hope to do more on campus as the situation with COVID improves over time.
I wanted to be a part of the SECU Public Fellows Internship program because it allows me to get great experience and connect with people in my field. I am also super grateful to the donors because this grant funding will allow me to truly focus on my internship without worrying about how I am going to pay my bills.
I am working with Forest Keeper, and I am super excited to create educational content and build support for our forests here in NC. I am also looking forward to planning a hiking series for the summer, so if you love to hike look out for that!
My name is Katherine Cantwell and I am a senior at UNCA. I am majoring in psychology with a minor in management. After graduation I hope to pursue a career in digital marketing or public relations. I saw the SECU internship in one of the university newsletters and decided to apply in order to gain more experience and volunteer work in our community. I haven’t done much volunteering since I moved to Asheville and was therefore excited at the prospect of being able to contribute in a meaningful way. My internship site is Land of Sky Regional Council and I am very eager to be a part of this organization for the summer. I will be doing work specifically related to the clean vehicle coalition which is dedicated to educating people about and expanding the presence of electric vehicles. I am excited to learn more about EV’s and hopefully make a lasting impact in this program and on the environment.
Hi, my name is Alyssa, and this is my third year at UNC Asheville, and I am currently a Senior. I am a dual Major in Psychology and Sociology with a Minor in Legal Studies. Regarding extracurriculars, I have helped with Orientation on campus for the past 2 years now, and I am also the Founder and President of the UNCA Body Positivity Alliance which I started in Fall 2020. I decided to apply for the SECU Public Fellows Internship because I had been volunteering with Pisgah Legal Services this past winter break through the Spring 2021 semester, noticed they were one of the available sites for the program, and wanted the opportunity to work with them further and more in-depth over the summer. In the future, I want to go to law school and help people as a lawyer in this area, so having the opportunity to work with Pisgah Legal, an organization that provides free legal aid for those who need it, embodies exactly what I want to accomplish through law in the future.
My name is Emily Phillips and I am pursuing a degree in psychology and mass communications with hopes to build a career within a nonprofit organization. I am currently a rising junior at UNCA participating in a campus ministry known as Wesley while holding a job at the Academic Success Center on campus. I applied for the SECU public fellows program because it offered both a sustainable wage for the summer period along with an opportunity to execute my skills, as well as develop a comprehensive understanding of a local community partner. Working at Manna Foodbank has provided me with an understanding of the supportive foundation underlining a nonprofit. Manna Foodbank has also gained my interest because of the well developed reputation they have built with the community after so many years. Working alongside the Human Resources department in Manna, I have had the ability to interact with some intricate operations I would have otherwise not noticed on the surface.
My name is Anayancy Guzman. I am a junior studying History with a math minor. I decided to be a part of the SECU Public Fellows Internship program because I thought it would be a great way to begin networking and working to improve my community. This summer I will be working at the Buncombe County Office of Sustainability. At my internship I hope to learn more about local government. I am also excited to work on project involving solar panels within the county.
I’m Ellie Woolard, in fall 2021 I’ll be a second-year sophomore at UNC Asheville. I’m currently majoring in history with a minor in environmental studies. I am the secretary of UNC Asheville’s Rotaract club which conducts service projects in the local area, and I’m also a member of the UNC Asheville circle of Omicron Delta Kappa. I applied to be a part of the SECU Public Fellows Internship program because I wanted to be a part of something meaningful and impactful this summer. My roommate had previously been a SECU Public Fellows Intern, and she recommended applying to the program because it had given her a chance to give back to the community and even informed her future career goals. I’m excited to work with my internship site this summer because it will be an incredible opportunity to help others and will give me a chance to work on my own personal and professional development. My internship site is Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM). ABCCM has a variety of different sites that serve different needs in the community, and I am very interested to experience how each section of the nonprofit functions and helps the community.
My name is Kat Stulpin. I am a senior at UNC Asheville. I am currently earning a Psychology major and a Legal Studies minor. I have been able to be involved in a variety of different programs during my time at UNCA. This past year, I was a Student Health Ambassador. In addition to this, I help manage and organize a special interest group on campus with almost 100 participants. I am currently assisting with COVID-19 psychology research as well. This summer, I am interning with Children First. I decided to become a part of the SECU Public Fellows Internship Program because I wanted a chance to work with Children First and support their mission of providing services and advocacy to local families. I am really excited to learn more about all the different components of Children First!
Hello! My name is Aya Phillips, and I am a rising senior at UNCA with a major in English Literature and a minor in New Media. On campus, I am an officer for the Literature Club, which aims to bring students with a passion for reading and writing together. I am also an editorial intern for Headwaters Creative Arts Magazine, which is a student-led annual publication containing art submissions from UNCA students. Off campus, I have spent many summers volunteering at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham. I have participated in a variety of roles, from summer camp counselor to insectarium assistant.
I am going to be working with Blue Ridge Literacy Council this summer, and I couldn’t be more excited. The mission of the organization, which is to provide classes for adults seeking to improve their literacy skills to achieve a range of goals such as obtaining U.S. citizenship or developing stronger communication capability, is one that I am very passionate about and greatly admire. What interests me most about working with this organization is having the opportunity to combine the skills I have learned in both my major and minor to spread awareness about the value of literacy through online marketing.
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