Akron Community Internship Program

Get fluent in the language of Akron!

The EX[L] Center’s Akron Community Internship Program at the University of Akron is an initiative where UA students interface directly with community partners. Students gain practical discipline-related experience as well as an appreciation for the broader Akron community. Community partners serve as mentors to students, and receive the benefit of a student working on a project relevant to the respective organization.

Students spend 100 hours and earn $1,200 working on a specific activity with a clear deliverable. Internships are available in the summer or during the school year. The internships may be eligible for credit, depending on your department.

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Intern spotlight

Chance Jones & Kayla Madigan

Gabrielle Barnes

Public Relations Major

"Gaby is a curious and driven professional who is eager to learn, has an eye for details, and a bit of a perfectionist streak. She is also super super smart, so we love throwing crazy new things her way. She is steadfast and trustworthy." Mac Love, Chief Catalyst of Art X Love

H.L. Comeriato

English Major

"H.L. is fantastic and we worked together for years. Every class she took with me she would write about these issues. So when the internship with GCEF (Gay Community Endowment Fund) opened up, it was perfect."Heather Braun, UA professor
H.L. Comeriato (pictured on right) paired up with The Devil Strip photographer Shane Wynn (pictured on left) for #TransAkron that shares personal stories about the subjects alongside their photographs and statistics about transgender people. It also teaches people how to respectfully interact with the transgender and non-binary community.

Alex Gingrich

J.D./MBA

The Community Internship through the EXL Center, where I worked with Vlipsy for 10 weeks was even more beneficial than I initially thought it would be. The CEO of Vlipsy asked me early in the internship if there were any additional kind of projects I would be interested in. I expressed my interest in video editing and animation, soon after I was working on video projects with critiques from the team to better my abilities. One video I did the vast majority of work on is going to be posted by Skype’s social media team to show the Vlipsy and Skype integration.

Malik Hudson

Communication & Media Studies Major

"Malik is currently helping us transform Perkins Woods Pool. My hope is to get him behind the camera to help us tell these stories.” Mac Love, Chief Catalyst of Art X Love

Kiyasia Hudson

Events Intern with L.I.N.K.S. Family Services

“I am not from Akron, so during my internship with L.I.N.K.S. it really opened up my eyes to all that the city has to offer to its residents. I learned that there are different organizations to help cater to all the needs that residents may have. There is the Rape Crisis Center, Foodbank, daycares for working parents in need, and many others. The community partner, Yolanda Parker also worked extremely hard to get all of the organizations together in one space. The partnership with EXL’s ACIP program and L.I.N.K.S. was extremely beneficial to me and the community and I hope this partnership continues.” Kiyasia Hudson

Chance Jones and Kayla Madigan

Dietetics/Food Science Major

Interns will gain a better understanding of the need that exists in Northeast Ohio, building relationships with community partners and Foodbank donors to help further the mission of the Foodbank. Chance and Kayla will be working in NPP for the next 10 weeks to help individuals apply for SNAP at partner programs and community events. As a dietetics/food science major, Kayla will also create monthly nutrition pieces for clients served through the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.

Réyna Pérez

Programming Internship with the Akron Children’s Museum (ACM)

“…ACM premiered Season Two of the Akron Adventures Podcast. I really enjoyed listening to Season One with my own daughter, especially since I am a big fan of podcasts myself. When ACM was looking for partnership ideas, I happened to bring up [Akron Adventures]. We met with [Dr. Julie Drew and the other] ladies of the podcast and set a date for their Season Two Premiere. This was exciting for several reasons: I was happy to have been the person to connect the two teams! Another reason is because podcasts and audiobooks are great things, and as far as I know, haven't particularly catered to children- which is a huge market, and it just made sense to have them do something with ACM- who serves children! We worked together to plan what the premiere would look like, what would be included and how we would lay out the event. From start to finish, this event was a great experience.” Réyna Pérez

Grae Pollard

Intern with Full Term, First Year Program, City of Akron

“I really learned so much about city government functions, collaboration, cultural competency, internal politics, public health, infant and maternal mortality and such. It was a great networking opportunity and I did learn some about what it takes to start a nonprofit- which is a lot might I mention. My relationship with Akron has changed for the better because of this internship.” Grae Pollard

Kendra Taylor

Nutrion and Dietetics Major

Through the Akron Community Internship Program, I have had the opportunity to work with two amazing community organizations in Akron. The first organization, Project Ujima, hosts weekly pregnancy and parenting circles for Akron women to help lower the rates of infant mortality in Summit County. I am collaborating with them to improve their nutrition education through handouts, cooking demos, and grocery store tours. The second community organization, CAFFI, works to help low income Summit County residents have access to free gluten0free and allergy friendly foods. I am assisting them with coordinating a stronger relationship with area food banks with the goal of increasing referrals to CAFFI's food bank and promoting awareness of the seriousness and costs of food allergies.

Melissa Tippin

Arts Administration Graduate Student

I cannot express how grateful I am for all of the awesome experiences I’ve had at Weathervane so far. Doing things such as planning events, developing curriculum, updating spreadsheets and checking students in before their classes, have armed me with the knowledge and confidence I’ll need to succeed in the arts administration field. All of the staff at Weathervane have been so warm, welcoming and patient as I learn about the day-to-day operations and tasks.
Melissa Tippin also starred as Cinderella in Weathervane Playhouse's production of Into The Woods.

Brooke Wingren

Intern with Full Term, First Year Program, City of Akron

“I have been interning with We Care Tees. This experience was through the eBay Retail Revival/ACIP program. It has been such a wonderful experience these past few months. I have learned so much within digital, social media, and email marketing. [I was] pushed and inspired to care for others since 10% of their profits go directly to charities.” Brooke Wingren