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Archives for April 2025

, Filed Under: Uncategorized

Summer 2025 Internships with Whole Communities-Whole Health

Whole Communities-Whole Health (WCWH) is a grand challenge in research at UT Austin. Our challenge is to change the way science helps society thrive. To do this, we are conducting a 5-year community-engaged cohort study in SE Austin and surrounding areas with families who have children under 5 years old. The goals of this study are to:

  • Study how individual and environmental health determinants impact young children and their families. By studying factors of health across physical, mental, environmental health and more, we hope to learn more about how these sectors influence each other and the health of the child and family.
  • Create an effective implementation model for multi-disciplinary family research processes.
  • Include families who have historically been excluded from research.
  • Provide opportunities for participants and community members to engage in the research process, ultimately improving the usefulness of the data.
  • Test new technologies for data collection.
  • Return study results to study participants.

WCWH is looking for 2-4 interns for the summer of 2025 to support our study team, community engagement, and returning data to participants.
Study Intern responsibilities include the following:

  • Prepare data collection materials for visits with participants
  • Conduct home visits with participants (you will always be accompanied by a staff member)
  • Other duties as assigned
  • Be available to work 8-10 hours per week
  • Spanish speaking is a plus

Community Engagement/Data Return Intern responsibilities include the following:

  • Assist with the creation and sending of reports to return study results to study participants
  • Develop content for a monthly community-facing newsletter
  • Maintain list of community resources for study participants
  • Conduct feedback interviews with study participants (training will be provided)
  • Other duties as assigned
  • Be available to work 8-10 hours per week
  • Spanish speaking is a plus

To apply, email your resume and a letter of interest, to Shirene Garcia, Community Engagement Manager for WCWH, at shirene.garcia@austin.utexas.edu. Deadline to apply is May 13th. [Update: Due to number of applications received, the application deadline has closed early, as of May 8th.] This is an unpaid position but can be used for a BDP Connecting Experience.

, Filed Under: Uncategorized

Rapoport Center Internships – Summer 2025

The Barbara Harlow Endowed Internship in Human Rights and Social Justice

The Barbara Harlow Endowed Internship in Human Rights and Social Justice honors the life and work of Barbara Harlow (1948-2017), who was the Louann and Larry Temple Centennial Professor of English Literature at the University of Texas at Austin. She was a committed colleague, friend, and mentor to countless students, activists, and intellectuals. As a collaboration between the Rapoport Center and the Bridging Disciplines Programs (BDPs), the internship introduces BDP students to Barbara Harlow’s scholarship and activism and encourages them to imagine future trajectories for her work. While the internship is open to all BDP students, regardless of which certificate they are pursuing, it is meant for students who are working on issues of social justice.

This internship was established shortly after Barbara Harlow’s passing in 2017 with donations that she and family members made to the Center to provide undergraduate students with human rights and justice opportunities. We chose the internship  to honor Barbara because it was largely through her efforts that the Rapoport Center and the BDP partnered to create the Human Rights & Social Justice BDP certificate in 2009. Harlow chaired the faculty panel for the certificate from its inception until 2017.

Barbara’s intellectual praxis crossed continents and encompassed diverse agendas: resistance, translation, political engagement and solidarity, human rights, and pedagogy. She contributed greatly to the University of Texas at Austin, not only through the English department, the Rapoport Center, and the BDP, but through several area studies programs and centers, including African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Studies. To learn more about her life and work, please visit the Rapoport Center’s tribute page and the website for our 2017 conference, Barbara Harlow: The Sequel.In 2024, a number of Barbara’s former students, colleagues, and friends have begun to raise funds to endow the internship to ensure its continuation in perpetuity. If you would like to contribute or to learn more about former Harlow interns, please visit the endowment page.

Application

ELIGIBILITY: This internship is only open to undergraduate students enrolled in the Bridging Disciplines program (BDP). If you are not a BDP student, please consider applying to our standard undergraduate internship. Please note that this internship is open to UT students of all citizenship statuses.

The internship is made possible by seed money that Barbara Harlow gifted to the Rapoport Center and the BDP. Though the internship is similar to the Rapoport Center’s standard undergraduate internship, it offers a higher stipend ($3,000 for Summer) and requires three additional components:

  • In the cover letter, students should reflect (in one paragraph) on how Harlow’s scholarship and activism might influence their work with the Rapoport Center and their pursuit of human rights and social justice more broadly.
  • During the internship, each recipient will write a piece for our Human Rights Commentary page, which either engages directly with Harlow’s work or uses her work as a lens through which to engage critically with a topic.
  • After the internship, each recipient will create a poster to reflect on the internship, taking into account Harlow’s impact on their experience, and present it at the Annual BDP poster session in April. (Summer interns will submit at the end of their respective term, and then present in April.)

Other projects may include the following:

  • Maintain websites for the Rapoport Center’s projects and initiatives
  • Expand the Center’s social media and general communications outreach
  • Attending and actively participating in/assisting with Center events
  • Organizing and leading undergraduate “coffee chats” on human rights topics
  • Serve as liaison to UT undergraduate community and help develop the Center’s undergraduate outreach
  • Engage in human rights research and writing, with a focus on the Center’s ongoing historical and archival research
  • Assist Center staff and other student team members with other projects and tasks as assigned

Selected interns should be available 20 hours per week during the summer. The majority of an intern’s working hours will take place in-person at the Rapoport Center. Depending on funding, between one and three internships will be offered per year. Students who apply for and are not selected for the Barbara Harlow Internship may be considered for our standard undergraduate internship.

Required Qualifications:

  • Commitment to working on issues of human rights and justice
  • Excellent writing and editing ability
  • Individual initiative and flexibility
  • Strong organizational and time management skills
  • Professional demeanor

The following qualifications may be preferred in some candidates:

  • Community engagement and/or outreach experience at UT, or in a comparable academic or nonprofit setting
  • Experience designing public-facing communications, including social media, event publicity, newsletters, blogs, etc.
  • Experience developing websites (especially using WordPress platform) and/or curating digital content
  • Proficiency in Spanish and/or Portuguese
  • Experience with scholarly research, editing, writing, and/or archival work
  • Demonstrated interest in issues such as environmental/climate justice, reproductive justice, and/or peace

Qualified students should submit the following items in a single PDF file through our online form. Please make sure the file name includes your full name.

  • Cover letter: state why you are interested in the position; demonstrate basic knowledge of Rapoport Center programs and activities; and reflect on Harlow’s scholarship and activism (see details above). Be sure to address your specific skills and qualifications.
  • Resume/CV: be sure to indicate any relevant skills or proficiency in languages other than English.
  • Transcript: we will accept both unofficial and official transcripts.
  • Writing sample (3-5 pages): it does not need to relate directly to human rights, though that is preferable.
  • References: include the contact information for three references (two must be UT faculty) on the application form. Recommendation letters are not required.

Deadline

April 28, 2025 at midnight

Contact

Contact Rapoport Center operations manager Caroline Hahn at carolinehahn@austin.utexas.edu if you have any questions.

, Filed Under: Internship

Summer and Fall 2025: Festival Beach Food Forest: Grant Writing & Fundraising Internship

Organization: Festival Beach Food Forest (FBFF)

Location: Primarily Remote with potential for occasional in-person meetings in Austin or on-site events at events in the Forest (29 Waller St. 78702)

About Festival Beach Food Forest:

Festival Beach Food Forest (FBFF) is a volunteer-led community organization stewarding 3+ acres of city-owned parkland at the edge of downtown. FBFF uses permaculture techniques to create a biodiverse microclimate that provides shade, habitats, educational opportunities, edible and medicinal plants, and various community events. With a sociocratic (flat) organizational structure, FBFF offers a unique and transparent environment for volunteers and interns to contribute meaningfully to its mission.

Internship Description:

The Festival Beach Food Forest seeks 1-2 Grant Writing and Fundraising Interns to secure resources to support our ongoing projects and future growth. This internship offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in nonprofit development, grant writing, and the inner workings of a grassroots organization. The intern will work closely with our dedicated volunteer grant and fundraising teams. Depending on the intern’s interests and skills, you will work closely with our dedicated volunteer teams in your chosen area.

Potential Responsibilities (flexible based on skills and interests)

Grant Writing Intern

  • Grant Research: Research saved grants to identify priorities and strong funding opportunities.
  • Proposal Development: Assisting in the drafting and editing of compelling grant proposals.
  • Data Collection & Reporting: Supporting the collection and organization of data for grant applications and reports.
  • Collaboration: Working with FBFF volunteers to understand project needs for grant narratives.

Fundraising & Digital Communications Intern

  • Fundraising Research: Identifying potential individual donors, corporate sponsors, and fundraising campaign strategies.
  • Digital Communications Support: Assisting with the creation of engaging content for social media, email newsletters, and website updates to support fundraising efforts.
  • Campaign Assistance: Supporting the planning and execution of online and potentially in-person fundraising campaigns.
  • Donor Engagement: Assisting with donor outreach and acknowledgment.

Benefits of this Internship:

  • Direct Impact: Contribute directly to securing funding that will support a vital community green space.
  • Insider Perspective: Gain access to all levels of the organization and experience the inner workings of a volunteer-led nonprofit with a unique sociocratic structure.
  • Skill Development: Enhance your research, writing, communication, digital media, and project management skills, tailored to your chosen focus.
  • Networking Opportunities: Connect with passionate volunteers and community members dedicated to sustainability and urban agriculture.
  • Flexible Schedule: While we appreciate consistent engagement, we are willing to work with the intern’s academic schedule.
  • Tailored Experience: Opportunity to significantly shape your internship to align with your specific learning goals and career interests.

To Apply or Learn More:

Reach out to contact@festivalbeach.org with your resume and a brief statement of interest outlining why you are interested in this internship and indicating whether you are most interested in the Grant Writing focus OR the Fundraising & Digital Communications focus, and what you hope to gain from the experience.

We encourage students from all BDP programs who are passionate about our mission and eager to develop grant writing or fundraising/digital communications skills to apply!