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St. Louis Fellows Program showcases mutually beneficial civic engagement internship for students and local nonprofits
The Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement’s St. Louis Fellows Program hosted a showcase and reception for the fellows to show off their work on Oct. 18. Students, faculty, and community partners alike had the opportunity to learn about the fellows’ experiences with local nonprofits as a part of Gephardt’s Civic Action Week.
The St. Louis Fellows Program is a 10-week internship in which participants work at St. Louis based nonprofits or civic internships full-time over the summer and attend various other community events. All 32 fellows, divided into four subcategories — including Dr. John C. Morris Fellows, Goldman Fellows, Mosbacher Fellows, and more — receive professional guidance and mentorship in addition to working with their respective organizations. The internship is run by Sarah Nash, Gephardt’s Community Engagement Manager.
“The program is really twofold. It’s not just focused on students, and it’s not just focused on community partners. We really want to build partnerships and a fellowship experience that’s mutually beneficial for students and organizations in the region,” Nash said. “I think the beauty of the program is that we’re really learning about how organizations across the ecosystem in St. Louis collaborate and work together.”
The fellowship has existed since 2008, and this was the first year Nash decided to add the showcase, which included formal group presentations and individual poster-board presentations. Over 100 people were in the building for the showcase, including the fellows.
“We have community partners here, both those that hosted this year’s fellows [and] folks who didn’t have a fellow this year but are interested in having fellows in the future,” Nash said. “Then, obviously, our 2023 fellows are part of the audience here in addition to sharing their posters and group presentations, and prospective fellows were invited. So this is really like a kick-off event for recruiting next year’s fellows, which is exciting.”
Mosbacher St. Louis Fellow and WashU sophomore Grace Kahler reflected on her experience as a fellow. “I’m really proud of what everyone has done for the community, working together, because we’re much stronger as a whole,” she said. “I hope attendees learn something new about St. Louis and get interested in hearing more about what Gephardt has to offer.”
Susan Colangelo — a representative from the Saint Louis Story Stitchers, Kahler’s community-partner organization — was in attendance at the showcase. “It was very nice to see her [interacting] with some of the other fellows,” she said.
Colangelo also expressed her gratitude for Kahler’s contributions to the organization as a whole. “The skill level that Grace brought to us and the energy that WashU students bring into a nonprofit is huge — it makes a huge difference and makes everyone else energized. We miss her a lot,” she said.
Losos Fellow and WashU sophomore Ariel Nochez explained that it was a weird feeling to be done working with his nonprofit at the end of the summer.
“Seeing everyone else’s work and all the different areas we worked in [is really nice] because the nonprofit world is so diverse, and it’s really cool to see what everyone’s doing,” Nochez said. “As a computer-science student, I’m not typically who you think of when you think of someone who works at a nonprofit. I hope [attendees] can see that different fields apply to nonprofit work, and everyone can do nonprofit work.”
Mosbacher St. Louis Fellow and WashU junior April Springer echoed this sentiment, describing the feeling of revisiting her summer work with her community partner at this culminating event after a brief hiatus.
“It’s cool to be here and see a lot of people who are interested in Gephardt — both people who want to apply for this or for the Civic Scholars program,” Springer said. “It’s good to see some familiar faces, [including community partners], and show my work on a big poster.”
Dung Tran, a first-year who hopes to apply for either the St. Louis Fellows Profram or for the Gephardt Civic Scholars Program, was also in attendance at the showcase. “From the insight they gave, [the fellow I spoke with] seemed to have a personal connection [to their organization], and I could tell they had a real passion for that issue. It’s touching to see how these people can have an impact on the community,” Tran said.
Goldman Fellow and WashU junior Jesse Sanchez described his feelings being at the final, culminating event of this fellowship. “It’s bittersweet because I took a lot away from my summer, and I’m very grateful to the Gephardt [Institute] for supporting me financially and personally,” he said. “And so it’s sad but not necessarily saying goodbye [because] I know I’ll always have a connection here.”
Nash expressed her excitement with the turnout of attendees at the showcase and the growing impact of the St. Louis Fellows Program in general. Colangelo confirmed this sentiment from the community partners’ end.
“There’s so much talent here and so many resources for the community, and I’m very grateful to the Gephardt Institute for pulling this together and working on making it grow. I think that will make a huge impact on the community,” Colangelo said.