KALAMAZOO, MI — A new Western Michigan University program will allow 100 students to participate in local internships this summer through the Broncos Lead Internship Program.
Nearly 40 businesses participate in the program, which is paid for through The Empowering Futures Gift, a $550 million donation to WMU from an anonymous donor.
Participating businesses must be a nonprofit, small business, minority-owned, a startup or have a strong DEI program. Stipulations for participants are made by the donor, WMU Associate Dean Deveta Gardner said.
“The ability to connect WMU to the greater Kalamazoo community is important,” Gardner said. “(We recognized) that we had small businesses that couldn’t pay students, in the past, (so) this was an opportunity to do that,” Gardner said.
Internships can be 12 weeks and students can work up to 20 hours per week at a rate of $15 per hour. Prior to the internships, students participate in workshops and undergo paid professional development throughout the summer.
Deanna Omoniyi, founder of Kalamazoo Empowerment Services, said hiring interns is difficult because they don’t have the funds to pay for the intern onboarding process.
“At our company, we’re primarily people of color, so we’re helping to break down the stigma of asking for help and asking for mental health services,” Omoniyi said. “So helping interns promote (and) participate in workshops will help us have a greater reach.”
According to Andrea Page, assistant director of internships at WMU, students who have an internship under their belt are more likely to be hired in the future. Omoniyi said one of his motivating factors was the fact that he had internships while studying at WMU.
Kirsten Clement, farm director at the Kalamazoo Nature Center, said they hire five to six interns each summer, but haven’t been able to pay them in years past.
“There’s not a lot of ‘extras’ in farming,” Clement said. “The result of that is, we always attract kids who can do an unpaid summer internship, and that really reduces who we can teach to farm.”
Clement said this internship program will expand their mission to educate the public about agriculture, and he hopes the program will continue in the future.
Gardener said the plan is for the current program to transition into a permanent staple at WMU.
“The hope of the president, Dr. Montgomery, as well as our university vice presidents who support these initiatives is that we can have this type of program for students forever,” Gardner said. “Continuing to make connections and partnerships with our greater Kalamazoo community where our students live is important.”
For more details on the Broncos Lead Internship Program, click here.
More on MLive
Florida’s naked ‘David’ statue prompts Hillsdale College to cut ties with the school
Michigan to pay off student loans for behavioral health providers
Kalamazoo’s minority graduation rates are ‘shocking,’ board president says
