“Personally, my future motivates me to be successful. I need internships and experience to get to where I want to be…ultimately, this internship has put many of my goals and aspirations into focus,” Katrina Pusateri, student at Merrimack College, goes in depth about her time spent over the summer working with the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, through a paid internship program coordinated by Merrimack College and funded by the Yawkey Foundation.
For the second year, the Yawkey Foundation has granted Merrimack College with generous funding to provide paid opportunities for students to conduct summer internships at nonprofits in Lawrence. Aside from payment, however, students seem to be just as grateful for their experience and skill gained at these internships, “overall, this internship position is the opportunity to fully take advantage of my learning objectives in both my personal and professional life,” Tiana Lawrence, student, commends the Merrimack Valley YMCA for the experience her internship has given her.
Some students find that their internship provides them a realization of what they want and do not want out of a career path. Emily Keller, a student at Merrimack, considers her time at Groundwork Lawrence as “insight on a future career path…” she explains, “I would like to create more opportunities [for myself] to experience different types of work settings to see which one I best fit into.” It is not an expectation or a guarantee to find your concrete career path during an internship, this program seeks to provide students the opportunity to gain valuable work experience in the non-profit sector while partnering with our neighbors in Lawrence to meet the needs of the community.
Often times students will form a positive connection with the community of Lawrence, Kerri Mackey, student, reflects on her time spent at the Family Services of the Merrimack Valley, “It was truly an eye-opening experience working here, being able to spend my day with a variety of people whose stories and struggles I will not forget.” Thanks to the Yawkey Foundation, as well as the Yawkey Nonprofit Undergraduate Internship Program, students at Merrimack College have the benefit of branching out into the Lawrence Community, building connections professionally and personally, as well as creating a solid foundation for their future careers.
