Living and Learning Together Within a Community
“Cohort living” is a phrase students hear as soon as they discover the SHECP Summer Internship program. But what does it mean? As a SHECP intern, students not only share housing with the other interns placed in their city, they share life for eight weeks. Cohort living is designed to bring students from different backgrounds – working across various fields and with varied interests – to work as a team for eight weeks. For many students, their SHECP summer marks a move to a completely new city, engaging in unfamiliar work, and navigating day-to-day life in a new and fun way. Living with fellow interns offers a network of support, as well as a deeper look into their summer home.
From weekly potluck dinners to art nights, exploring their cities to discovering local nature, interns also have a lot of fun! L to R: Louisville ice cream; Roanoke pizza night; Richmond dinner; Huntingdon art walk
And the summer “team” extends beyond the cohort; alumni, local friends of SHECP, member schools in the area, and community partners are all part of the relational web. Through dinners, tours of their cities, and ice cream socials, SHECP alumni and friends hosted interns and welcomed them to town for the summer. These moments, often casual outings, provided a chance for current students to organically connect with alumni, hear about how SHECP has shaped their vocational thinking, and invite students to begin reflecting on their summer experiences.
Relationships with intern placement sites also deeply integrate interns into the community. The Savannah, GA cohort kicked off the summer with a happy hour for all six interns, their host site supervisors, and Julie Wade, a SHECP Board member and Executive Director of the nonprofit organization Tharros Place. This set the tone for a summer of community connection. Eli Childress, one of two SHECP interns with Tharros Place, was even featured on the local news, alongside their supervisor LaToya Scott, to discuss the impact of the SHECP interns on Tharros place and other partner organizations in the city. [[insert link]]
Faculty and staff from SHECP member schools actively contribute to these layers of relationship while providing virtual support to the school’s group of students. Additionally, they are part of the in-person support team for interns in their city, engaging with local interns when a SHECP cohort comes to town. In Huntingdon, PA - one of SHECP’s newest cohort locations - Dr. Sarah Worley of Juniata College played a pivotal role in helping the cohort feel at home. Representatives from Baylor University worked to bring the first SHECP cohort to Waco, TX this summer, culminating in a very successful first summer of substantive support for community partner agencies and meaningful relationships for interns.
Though it is difficult to truly measure the relational impact of these eight weeks, long-lasting ties between interns and their communities, interns and their placements, and interns and each other are an indicator of the depth cohort living adds to the SHECP intern experience.
"The time I spent getting to know the next generations of this community, my living cohort members, and the city will be an experience I will never forget."
- Aaylah Ludwiczak, Juniata College, intern with Cabbage Patch Settlement House in Louisville, KY
Interested in planning a summer event in your community or engaging with current interns? Contact us at internshipdirector@shepherdconsortium.org.
