With a three-year Career Ready Internship Grant from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation, Augsburg College will create over 220 new paid internships during the 2015-2018 academic years.
Augsburg was one of 33 colleges and universities in Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin that received a combined $12 million in Great Lakes grants to make internships more equitable for their students with financial need. The college was awarded $447,986.00, which will be allocated toward student internship wages, transportation, and administrative support.
Augsburg’s Strommen Center for Meaningful Work will collaborate with businesses and nonprofit organizations to create new opportunities for paid internships. “Over the course of this three-year grant, Augsburg will have an opportunity to build relationships with dozens of employers in the Twin Cities metro area,” said Keith Munson, Director of the Strommen Center. “Those relationships will benefit the college and our students for years to come.”
[Click here to watch: Internship Stories from the Strommen Center for Meaningful Work]
This is the second Career Ready Internship grant Augsburg has received. A 2014 grant of $150,000 created nearly 60 paid internships for students with financial need.
Munson credits the success of the first grant to the formation of a cross-campus implementation team. The Strommen Center worked with staff and faculty from Business Administration, STEM Programs, Sabo Center for Citizenship and Democracy, Masters in Business Administration, Graduate Admissions, Alumni Relations, Corporate and Foundation Relations, and the Office of Institutional Advancement to identify prospective employers.
“Paid internships benefit students, colleges, and employers,” said Richard D. George, Great Lakes President and Chief Executive Officer. “Students gain meaningful workplace skills and are more likely to earn degrees and use their internship experiences to help secure good jobs upon graduation. Colleges will see increased completion and job placement rates, and employers gain a pipeline to fresh talent. It’s a win-win-win.”
“I am delighted that Great Lakes shares our values with regard to experiential education,” said President Paul Pribbenow. “The Strommen Center plays an integral role in students’ overall education and helps to prepare them to make meaningful contributions to our communities. Our partnership with Great Lakes makes an enormous difference for our students.”
After three months of administrative planning, employer outreach, and student recruitment, staff will begin placing eligible juniors and seniors in paid internships in January 2016. The Great Lakes grant period continues through May 2018.
To learn more about internships at Augsburg College, please click here to visit the Strommen Center website.
Photos above were taken at Augsburg’s Fall Career and Internship Fair in September. For more photos, click here to visit our Flickr page.