By Pauline Williams
Contributing Writer
Over the summer, the Office for Civic Learning piloted its first-ever Willenborg Civic Action Internships. These internships, sponsored by alumni and labor leader Eileen Willenborg, provide students with hands-on and paid experience working with community agencies working for social justice and democratic change. The team had the pleasure of sitting down with Robert Baker, who interned with Solidarity Building Initiative at McCormick Theological Initiative, and Jessica Vega, who interned with First Defense Legal Aid, to discuss their internship experiences this summer.
A new Willenborg Civic Action Internship is offered in spring. Students interested in building experience doing work for the public good can apply for spring Communications and Research internships with the Service Employees International Union – Healthcare Illinois and Indiana.
Robert Baker is a junior who is double majoring in psychology and neuroscience.
Jessica Vega is a senior who is double majoring in sociology and criminology.
Q: Could you talk to us about this organization?
R: I worked with the Solidarity Building Initiative at McCormick Theological Seminary and they aim to use classes of theology to rehabilitate prison inmates. We also did community outreach projects and community teachings, as well as seminars for the public.
J: I worked with First Defense Legal Aid which works on a platform of core values (fairness, dignity, liberation, and accountability) to fill in gaps left by the public system and develop alternatives to the criminal justice system.
Q: What about this organization attracted your attention?
R: I was attracted because of my double major, in psychology and neuroscience, and my desire to work with the application of mental health skills to the black youth community, noting that most of that work would deal with the criminal justice system and its barriers. I did not know much about these systems and thought that this opportunity would be perfect for learning more in practice with the agency while learning more in theory in my classes at Dominican.
J: I was undecided about my career for awhile but knew I wanted to do community work and went into this hoping for more direction. I was attracted to the idea of serving the community due to my double major, in sociology and criminology. I liked their core values and the unity behind the fellowship and the communities that they work in/with. Seeing the attorney’s offices and working with this agency definitely gave me more direction and I’m hoping to renew my internship and continue on.
Q: What sort of work did you do/what did your mentorship entail?
R: I did mostly statistical work, in creating metrics to analyze the effectiveness of the seminary’s work. We also had weekly team meetings that gave a sense of community. I was able to learn more about the systems that I would like to work with.
J: I worked with the Women-Know-Your-Rights program and we worked on projects and created workshops for our community. I also did research to discover what we needed more of and on statistics of the disproportionate harassment towards women of color. I was also given the task of writing how the FDLA can move to improve these needs.
I had a lot of independent work where I just had tasks for the week. I found that this really helped me to expand my own thinking as a student and employee. The Women-Know-Your-Rights program was not fully launched yet so I got to see a lot of the behind the scenes work.
Q: Any advice or challenges for incoming student fellows?
J: Not to rush your research or to feel inadequate. Make sure to gather reliable information and be ready to learn. Have fun and enjoy your impact/time. I struggled with organizing my time but don’t be afraid to ask for help.
R: Make sure you’re ready to commit your time as you’re working with professionals. Don’t worry about not knowing as much as the people you’re working with, but be curious to learn. I’d say the hardest part was trying to tackle large projects in such a small amount of time.
[Pauline Williams ’23 is an intern with the Office for Civic Learning]
