Award Recipients

Congratulations to our Internship Financial Award Recipients!

  • Carol & Marc Phillips Fellowship in Community Engagement Endowment

     

    Yash Kothari (Spring 2024) - VITA Program
    During my internship with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program, I served as a site coordinator, overseeing daily operations, managing volunteers, ensuring tax return accuracy and addressing complex taxpayer issues.  This experience aligned with and complemented my coursework in finance and accounting.  It underscored the importance of effective leadership and community service, shaping my aspirations towards leadership roles in nonprofits and financial management careers.  

     

    Harmony Cecil (Summer 2023) - Salisbury Zoological Park
    I worked at Salisbury Zoological Park as a zookeeper. I had the opportunity to work with different animals and was responsible for food preparation, feeding, cleaning of animals enclosure and oral medication. I also had the opportunity to provide enrichment for the animals to ensure behavior, physical and mental needs were being provided for. I truly enjoyed this area, as it related to my studies of animal behavior.  It was interesting to see how animals behave in response to different stimulus.  My coursework at Millersville definitely prepared me for this internship and the hands-on experience provided valuable insight into my future career path.  

    Isaiah Boyer (Spring 2022) - VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance), United Way of Lancaster County
    I have been lucky to intern with VITA this spring. We are a program focused on providing free tax prep to low-income individuals in Lancaster County. Personally, I love helping people in need, so this program has been perfect for me. Not only that, but I have learned so much, from tax knowledge, to problem-solving and communication skills, to supervisory and management experience. While I may not go into the tax field upon graduation, everything I learned here can be applied to all areas of my life, and for that I'm so grateful!
    Back to top
  • Starbrad Excellence in Science Endowment

    InternshipMichael Zettlemoyer (Summer 2023) - NOAA Hollingers
    I am incredibly happy with the doors this internship has opened in my life, as well as feeling more prepared for the workforce. I am now building a new plan post-graduation.  I am looking into an advanced degree in Geology, currently adding additional classes to prep me for grad school, as well as track down numerous fellowship opportunities to fund my graduation research.  Having plugged into the public research sector, I know now that NASA offers countless fellowship opportunities to fund a master or doctoral degree.  Prior to my internship, I thought an Earth Science Education major meant I would teach Earth Sciences.  I now understand just how many opportunities my degree opens up, and I cannot wait to see what my future holds as I continue to find new and exciting opportunities.  

    InternshipCaitlin Curran (Summer 2022) - Penn State’s Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center 
    I am beyond thankful for my summer internship at Penn State’s Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center, located in Landisville, Pennsylvania. With this experience, I spent an extensive amount of time working with cover crops, soybeans, and more studies aimed at bettering farming in Pennsylvania. Anything from soil sampling to biomass collections was all a part of the experience. This internship relates to my career goals as I strive for a future in environmental and ecological biology. Learning about sustainable farming methods and various data collection techniques will benefit me greatly in my future endeavors.

    Back to top
  • Susquehanna Bancshares Internship Program Award

    Jessica Berkheimer (Spring 2024) - Lebanon County Branch 26AA of the NAACP
    I interned with my local NAACP as an Affordable Housing Advocate.  I was able to take my passion for etquity in housing and direct it into the field.  I was able to meet with key leaders in the field and I learned a lot about the multiple pieces that are in play policy-wise.  I learned about the hurdles to affordable housing, and met with people who are experiencing housing difficulties.  This opportunity has expanded my thinking and my resource base.  I hope to be able to use all of this newfound knowledge to make a difference locally, and maybe someday, nationwide.

    Lorna CornelyLorna Cornely (Spring 2024) - Lancaster Recreation Commission
    I had the pleasure of working at the Lancaster Recreation Commission in the senior center. During my time there I had the opportunities to participate in providing assistance in the office by making copies, posting new lunch calendars, and being involved in other office duties. I enjoyed restocking necessary items needed for the individuals in the senior center. Along with my office duties I enjoyed creating name tags for everyone in the building. While attending my internship I found much joy in holding conversations and getting to know the elderly better and getting an understanding of their lives. My course work at Millersville in social work allowed me to use content knowledge to help further my experience with elderly people. 

    Luke DavisLuke Davis (Spring 2024) - Lancaster Recreation Child Development Center
    My experience at Lanaster Recreation Child Development Center was an incredible learning experience for me.  I wish to work in a preschool setting with young children and this internship allowed me to learn and grow my skills.  The internship provided me day long opportunities to work with 3-5 year old and preschool aged children.  Due to this experience, I will be seeking jobs in the preschool aged child development areas.  I would like to thank everyone who support me during this internship experience.

     

    Jessica KlinedinstJessica Klinedinst (Spring 2024) - Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County 
    I have always had an interest in bookkeeping and discovering new things in Lancaster City, so having a chance to work with the trust as an archives processor was a welcome addition to my future career as a librarian or historical archivist. While the non-profit worked to digitize physical documents about the history of Andrew Ellicott and the Ellicott House (where I did my internship), I also learned about the counties and boroughs that make up the entirety of Lancaster itself. From Millersville, Conestoga, Caernarvon/Narvon, Cocalico, Mount Joy, East/West Conegal, and many more. I also worked with creating social media posts about historic locations for their Facebook page (https://m.facebook.com/historicpreservationtrust). While working with an English Writing-Studies degree would usually put me towards a teaching career, I hope to look towards a career in archives or any other position to preserve the past for others to look at in the future.

    Lexey MikolonLexey Mikolon (Spring 2024) - League of Women Voters US
    My internship experience as a Policy Intern for the League of Women Voters US provided me with a vast number of new experiences and skills. My internship at LWVUS offered countless benefits that I will be able to apply to my future career goals, including the meaningful connections that I made with other members of staff that will last beyond my time at LWVUS. Additionally, I had the opportunity to connect with state-based Leagues across the US to hear about their individual concerns given the current political climate. The opportunity to learn more about the work on the ground in each state reinvigorated my passion for cross-advocacy work between state and federal-focused organizations. Overall, this experience solidified my future career goals of working in a non-profit organization as a policy specialist who advocates on issues that personally resonate with me. I would highly recommend that anyone interested in advocacy or political affairs consider an internship with the League of Women Voters US.

    Leah ReaganLeah Reagan (Spring 2024) - Lancaster Office of Promotion (LOOP)
    I learned so much in such a short amount of time.  I learned the "behind the scenes" of promoting a city and its events to support the tourism scene by writing blogs, attending meetings, and working with social media tools.  The skills I learned with be helpful in my future career.  Overall, my experience has been extremely beneficial to my future career and has shown me the path I want to take after graduation.  I would suggest this internship to anyone interested in public relations, marketing, or any other communications-related field!

    Christopher Beehler (Summer 2023) - Ephrata Performing Arts Center (EPAC)
    I interned in the Technical Department working on audio for the shows and assisted with sound dsign and setting up sound equipment.  The collaboration displayed at EPAC was incredible and everyone made me feel very welcomed. My internship was very beneficial for my education, career and personal growth and has given me the confidence to search for more jobs and internships in the industry.     

     Laura Haywood (Summer 2023) - Seaside Sustainability
    I had the amazing opportunity to work with this nonprofit organization, run entirely on interns and volunteers.  I worked with the Climate Action Department connecting with local and national alliance group and inspire communities to actively participate in the fight against climate change. Working as a team in a remote setting was one of the biggest learnings for me in this internship. I found it difficult to stay on task and stay motivated. Moving forward working remotely is not something I would want to do in the future.       

     Jacob Sileski (Summer 2023) - Centro Hispano
    My experience was a very educational and fulfilling time for me. As a plant biology major, agricultural development work was a job field I was interested in learning more about as a potential career option. ECHO provided me with both hands on and classroom time that gave me a fuller picture of what development work entails and a view of the possibilities that exist for bringing hope to developing communities worldwide. Due to my experience, I am highly considering continuing in this direction. I appreciate all those that were a part of supporting this experience for me!  

     Kate Vossen (Summer 2023) - Elmwood Park Zoo
    I interned with Elmwood Park Zoo as a Conservation Education Intern which focuses on educating guests, running giraffe feeds, and managing the petting zoo. One of the biggest things I learned from this internship was how to relay information to a large group of people with various age ranges.  The animals at Elmwood have impediments that prevent them from surviving in the wild, which was challenging to relay to children.  Overall, the internship allowed me to improve upon my general knowledge of animals and their biology.  This was a great foundation for continuing my education and field of study.

    quinn

    Quinn Beitzel (Summer 2022) - ECHO Global Farm
    My experience was a very educational and fulfilling time for me. As a plant biology major, agricultural development work was a job field I was interested in learning more about as a potential career option. ECHO provided me with both hands on and classroom time that gave me a fuller picture of what development work entails and a view of the possibilities that exist for bringing hope to developing communities worldwide. Due to my experience, I am highly considering continuing in this direction. I appreciate all those that were a part of supporting this experience for me!     

    Internship

    Miranda Miller (Summer 2022) - Elmwood Park Zoo 
    Throughout     my internship I was able to facilitate the giraffe feeding experience, run the barnyard experience with the goats, and help with the walk-through bird experience. There were also times I would be stationed at different exhibits and give talks to the families and groups walking by. I'm an Environmental Biology major who is very interested in conservation and wildlife, so this internship gave me the ability to explore those options and what parts of conservation I'd like to be involved in. My overall goal is to be more comfortable communicating with the public and getting everyone excited about science while still learning for myself!

     InternshipCassandra Sharrow (Summer 2022) - Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens
    I interned in the Zoo's African Forest and Wild Florida departments. I primarily assisted the keepers in their daily duties, provided enrichment for several species, and observed the wellness team assess studies.  As for my future career, this opportunity has allowed me first-hand experience, and determined if I’d like this as a career. This internship has enabled me to work with a variety of species, allowed me to network, and build my resume. This has truly been an invaluable experience.

    Back to top