The Penn State Center connects Penn State researchers, educators and students with opportunities to collaborate with Philadelphia’s communities to apply their expertise and address urban challenges. Located in the heart of Philadelphia’s historic district, The Center is currently host to the College of Agricultural Sciences, The College of Arts and Architecture, and Penn State Outreach.
The City of Philadelphia is home to a flourishing and diverse variety of community-based non-profit organizations whose work is to improve the lives of all Philadelphians. Many of these organizations have Penn State Center partners. These organizations not only promote healthy living practices within under-served populations, but also help to form other connections to bridge the gap between healthy lifestyles and healthy environments. Our overarching goal at the Center is to support healthy living for all Philadelphian both on an individual level as well as a holistic, environmental level. We do this by leveraging the strength of Penn State University in the most effective way we can: by partnering with other organizations that are providing similar support.
Over the years, we have developed a unique internship opportunity for our undergraduate students. Students who choose to join us for the summer have the opportunity to spend 10 weeks becoming immersed into our wonderful city and gain experiences that otherwise would not be afforded them. These students spend 3 days a week with one of our partner organizations, both helping with daily tasks as needed and imprinting their own mark based on their major at Penn State. The other two days are then spent working together at the Penn State Center to support initiatives that will help direct our future services to Philadelphia communities.
Areas of student interest for Internship: Urban Agriculture, Food Policy, Nutrition Education, Civic Engagement, Social Media/Public Health Communication, Food Distribution, Policy, Small Agriculture Business/Marketing, Community Development, Environmental Water Management, Environmental Education, Tourism Site Management, Youth Leadership Development, Horticultural Education, Business planning for non-profits.
- Duration – 10 Weeks (May 31 – August 5)
- Payment – Wage Payroll Position – $10.00 per hour
- Hours – 40 hours per week
- Placement – 3 days partner site/2 days PSU Center
Due to the broad range in internship opportunities, the responsibilities may relate to the points below, but also may vary depending on individual site selection:
- Develop nutrition education programs which link urban farms to the communities they serve.
- Assist in management of urban farm: Bed preparation, planting, weeding, watering, harvesting and other daily farm-related tasks.
- Assist with operations of CSA program including: boxing shares, distribution and weekly/seasonal marketing efforts.
- Assist in weekly market stands.
- Lead tours for local community members, schools and other organizations as needed.
Provide training of seasonal, part-time and volunteer personnel who will be working at your site. - Assist Penn State Center staff in addressing current and future opportunities for reaching communities with assistance we can provide.
- Represent Penn State University to communities in a positive helpful light.
Be prepared each day to tackle whatever issue may arise. In these types of internships every day is typically different with varying degrees of challenges. Although not a requirement, a preference will be put on those who are bilingual in Spanish.
Please visit the following videos of the 2014, and 2015 Penn State Center Philadelphia Interns to get a better understanding of their experiences in their own words:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nktn9WZYBpQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIpEsRG08WE
Application review will begin March 15, 2016 and continue until the positions have been filled.