Wye River Group

Summer 2026 INTERNSHIP Opportunity

We are seeking interns to work with us on a very timely social and public policy issues: substance use (SU, mental health (MH), and public health (PH) policy. Ideally, the student(s) will have some familiarity with one or more of these subjects and a strong interest in learning about how public policy works (formerly and informally).

This is an excellent opportunity to hear from key health and health care leadership in and outside of the legislature. You will research and gain insights about the public policy challenges with SU, MH, and PH. You will better understand policy applications to individuals, families, and communities across Texas.

The internship will start in June and continue into August for the right candidate. The candidate(s) selected will evaluate legislative activity coming out of the 89th Texas Legislative Session. Research contemporary sources, academia, and thank tanks’ positions on these issues.

The summer internship is focused on drafting policy papers designed to shape elected officials’ opinions. The work is remote and will require that you have a computer and a telephone.

Thank you for your consideration. If interested, please forward your personal statement, a writing sample, and your work bio. Candidates are encouraged to apply before May 5th. We generally receive 35 to 45 applications and select 12 students.

Jon Comola, Founder, Wye River Group

Email: jrcomola@wrgh.org

The Barbara Harlow Internship in Human Rights & 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. 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 (BDP), the internship aims to introduce BDP students to Harlow’s scholarship and activism, and to encourage them to imagine future trajectories for her work. Further information about the Harlow internship is available on our website.

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

DEADLINE: Applications are due at 11:59pm CDT on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.

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 ($1,750 for Fall and Spring, $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. (Fall and 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
• 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
• Organizing and leading undergraduate “coffee chats” on human rights topics
• Assist Center staff and other student team members with other projects and tasks as assigned

Selected interns should be available at least 10 hours per week during the semester, and 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 using the form below. 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 or academic summary: we will accept official and unofficial transcripts, and/or an academic summary.
• Writing sample (3-5 pages): it does not need to relate directly to human rights, though that is preferable.

In addition, three references (at least two must be UT faculty) who can speak to your professional or academic background must complete our short online reference form by March 31, 2026. Applications without references submitted by this deadline will be considered partially incomplete.