Comenius Scholars Program

Student Information

Paid internship with a non-profit
+ credit seminar course =
Comenius Scholars

Apply today! Deadline: October 13

Thanks to a grant by the McGregor Foundation, Calvin College created the Comenius (pronounced kuh-mee-nee-uhs) Scholars Program, a paid, for-credit internship program for liberal arts students to work in non-profit organizations.

Similar to the federal work-study program, Calvin pays a portion of the student wages and the employer pays a portion. Currently, non-profit organizaitons will pay 1/3 of minimum wage (although Work-Study eligible students will continue to be supported with 75% of their pay).

A Comenius Scholars internship will help you build a strong resume, deepen your understanding of how non-profit organizations run and assist you in determining your vocational calling.

Student Information

Who should apply?

students from liberal arts majors (e.g. English, philosophy, history, foreign languages, etc, not professional programs like nursing, education and engineering)
students with a career goal to be a leader in non-profit administration

Course credit

3 credit hour seminar course, IDIS 385, facilitated by Prof. Kurt Schaefer
includes guest speakers from the non-profit community teaching about their areas of expertise

Once you're accepted...

a list of possible internships will be made available to you, and you will apply for those that interest you
you can also find your own position; however, it will need to be approved by the Comenius program coordinators and director, and internships on Calvin's campus usually do NOT qualify
you'll work at your internship site for 10-15 hours per week for one semester, and be paid minimum wage ($7.40)
you must arrange your own transportation to and from the internship

Selection criteria

major, year in school (juniors and seniors preferred), GPA, disciplinary status and desire to work in a non-profit organization as a career
preference is given to students who do not have a for-credit internship program in their major
limited to 25 students per semester
students who are accepted will be required to complete approximately one hour of training on resume writing, interviewing, etc.

Apply

Apply now if you're interested in being considered for this program.

The student application deadline for the spring 2009 Comenius Scholars Program: October 13, 2008.

Student questions

Contact Beth Cok
bcok@calvin.edu
616.526.8519

See a list of Comenius Scholars placements for spring 2007, fall 2007 and spring 2008.

Employer Information

Calvin College invites you to join us as a community partner in the Comenius Scholars program. This internship program, developed through a $250,000 grant received from the McGregor Foundation, provides paid, for-credit internships for liberal arts students working in non-profit organizations. The program aims to

offer young people responsible apprenticeship positions in the non-profit sector
provide non-profit organizations the abilities and enthusiasm of liberally educated college interns
link students and organizations in relationships with deliberate goal-setting, accountability, mentoring and training in non-profit leadership and management.

This internship program will nurture students' sense of civic responsibility through leadership building and experiential learning. Appropriate projects for students include those related to organizational leadership, strategic planning, resource management, marketing, communication, fundraising, grant writing, volunteer coordination, working with boards, event planning, etc. The program began during the spring 2007 semester with 22 students.

Coursework

An on-campus seminar, facilitated by Professor of Economics Kurt Schaefer, is a 3 credit class for students, touching on a variety of topics related to non-profit leadership. Internship supervisors are invited to attend the seminars free-of-charge.

Finances

Students are paid minimum wage ($7.40) for their internship.
Community partners contribute one-third of this wage, with Calvin providing the remaining two-thirds of the intern's wages for 150 hours of work or less.
Community partners may pay the student more if desired, though Calvin will only reimburse for two-thirds of minimum wage.
For students who work 150 hours over the 12 weeks (12.5 hours per week) the employer portion is $370.
Calvin pays the students hourly during the semester. The work supervisor signs the intern's time cards every other week. The community partner is billed for their portion of the wages at the end of the semester.

Some Comenius Scholars are eligible for the Federal Work-Study Program (W-S). These students' wages will be paid from W-S funds, and the employer will be charged for 25% of the wages.

We intend that each student's internship will include activity related to expanding the employer's funding base so that the Comenius positions can become financially self-sustaining. Community partners' contribution to their interns' wages will gradually increase over the years.

Requirements

The non-profit organization must:

Have a supervisor/mentor to work with the intern
Be willing to pay their portion of the intern's wages
Provide the intern with work for 10-15 hours per week for 10-12 weeks (we will reimburse for a maximum of 150 hours over the semester)
Develop a brief description of the internship position to post at Calvin, and select their own intern from the students who apply (Note: Calvin will review position proposals and offer preference to those with more challenging work assignments. Positions not filled by a Comenius Scholar can be posted for the general student body.)
Be willing to sign an internship agreement and fill out an evaluation of the student's performance

Post your position

Post your position online, and be sure to check the box for "Comenius Scholars" near the bottom of the form.

Employer questions

Contact Laurie Lemmen
laurie@calvin.edu
616.526.8744

See a list of Comenius Scholars placements for spring 2007, fall 2007 and spring 2008.