October 4, 2010
MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Applications for Western Illinois University students who are interested in participating in the 2011 Spring Semester Minority Internship Program (MIP) are due Monday, Oct. 18 to the African American studies (AAS) department office, Morgan Hall 232 on the Macomb campus. WIU-Quad Cities students should contact Curtis Williams, (309) 762-1495, or e-mail CM-Williams11@wiu.edu, for information and applications.
The program, which is funded by a Higher Education Cooperation Act (HECA) grant through the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), is a one semester, paid internship that allows full-time junior, senior and graduate minority students to combine work and learning experiences. It is designed specifically for African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native American and Alaskan Native students who are U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents. To apply, undergraduates must be at least a full-time junior with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale. Full-time graduate students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25.
MIP campus co-chairs Fran Hainline, AAS office support specialist, and Alphonso Simpson, Jr., AAS associate professor and chair, along with a committee of WIU faculty and administrators, manage the application and selection process for students who qualify and participate in the program.
Students arrange their internship sites with the assistance of their academic advisers and the Career Services Office. Interns must work 30-35 hours per week and attend monthly seminars. Full-time interns are appointed for one academic term and are paid a monthly stipend. Academic credit for enrolling full-time in an approved internship credit course is required during the internship semester.
”We strive to provide an enhanced experience for the interns who have been selected to represent Western Illinois University through the MIP. The financial support and mentoring available is designed to make the internship experience more rewarding for these exceptional students,” stated Hainline and Simpson.
This semester, WIU has three students on MIP internships. McKenzie Cherestal (Evanston, IL), a senior law enforcement and justice administration major, who is interning with the Niles (IL) Police Department; Dail Rice (Rock Island, IL), a WIU-Quad Cities campus master’s candidate in counseling who is interning at Rock Island High School; and Robert Shelby (Macomb, IL), a master’s candidate in sociology who is interning at The Crossing in Macomb. Previously, MIP students have interned throughout the continental U.S. and Alaska, as well as London, Hong Kong and Australia.
An e-mail has been sent to all qualified students inviting them to apply. Interested students who have questions about their qualifications should call (309) 298-1181, e-mail MIP@wiu.edu or visit the AAS office, Morgan Hall 232. WIU-Quad Cities students should contact Williams, (309) 762-1495, or e-mail CM-Williams11@wiu.edu.
Copy By: WIU
