The 91����Ƶ Washington Semester program started off in the fall of 1976 as a “high-risk proposition,” recalls Phil Baker-Shenk ’79.  

“It was a high risk for the college, a high risk for us individual students, and certainly a high risk for (program founder and director) Nelson Good ’68 and Arden Shank, who staffed it,” said Baker-Shenk, one of the first students in the yearlong program (then known as the Washington Study-Service Year or WSSY) from 1976-77. “It was a high risk all around, and yet people with good ideas decided to plunge in, take that risk, and make it happen.”

Fifty years later, that big gamble has paid off.

Alumni of the urban studies program—the only such program offered at Anabaptist-affiliated institutions—credit it with giving them improved professional confidence, greater clarity about career direction, more comfort in working with people different than they are, and an increased awareness of systemic injustices.

Each semester and summer, students from 91����Ƶ and partner schools such as Bethel College, Bluffton University, and Goshen College converge at the Nelson Good House in the culturally diverse and multiethnic Brookland neighborhood of Washington D.C. It’s there that they learn to live in a shared community, cooking and eating meals together, managing a collective budget and household responsibilities, and navigating conflict with maturity.

Students gain real-world professional experience in their chosen field of study through internship placements, study the history and social dynamics of the city, and immerse themselves in the rich culture and vibrancy of the nation’s capital.

Baker-Shenk was among the 60 alumni and supporters of the 91����Ƶ Washington Semester, from its beginnings in the 1970s through today, who gathered at the Busboys and Poets restaurant in Brookland on Saturday, Feb. 14, to share their memories and experiences from their time in the program and celebrate its 50-year legacy. The milestone reunion included remarks from Program Director Ryan Good, 91����Ƶ Interim President Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus, Provost Dr. Tynisha Willingham, and many students and alumni from the past five decades. 

Since its inception, more than 1,000 students have called the program home for a season of their lives, said Dycus. They’ve taken courses at and built relationships with institutions such as Catholic University of America and Howard University. And students have learned to live with difference, practice shared leadership, and carry conviction into real work.

“We’re celebrating a living, evolving experiment in education,” Dycus told the crowd. “One that has asked generations of students to take learning seriously enough to put it to work. Since 1976, this program has woven together community living, academic study, and vocational reflection right in the complexity of our nation’s capital.”

As the story’s been told, shared Dycus, Nelson Good came to D.C. as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War era. “And, out of that experience, he helped build a program committed to servant leadership and social justice, and an education shaped by peace, responsibility, and courage to see the city as it is.”

Nelson Good directed the program until his retirement in 1987, mentoring it through major transitions. When the time came to find a new home closer to public transportation and academic partners, he personally helped find and secure the building at 836 Taylor Street that became the Nelson Good House. 

“He did that work even while facing a cancer diagnosis and died a few months before the facility’s dedication (on Aug. 20, 2005),” Dycus said.

Alumni of the 91����Ƶ Washington Semester gather to celebrate the program’s 50-year legacy.

The 91����Ƶ Washington Semester offers a built-in social and professional network for its alumni, many of whom find long-term careers in D.C., thanks to the web of connections and relationships they build through the program.

Aerlande Wontamo ’06 was among the first cohort of 15 students to live at the Nelson Good House during the spring of 2006. She interned at the Ethiopian Community Development Council while taking classes at Howard University.

“It was such a meaningful experience for me because I got on (Howard’s) campus and I looked like everybody else,” said Wontamo, who is originally from Ethiopia. “There was another person in our group, I think from Goshen, who was also at Howard, and she was white. We would go to school, and that was the first time she felt like a minority. It was this wonderful experience for both of us.”

Like many alumni of the 91����Ƶ Washington Semester (it was known as the Washington Community Scholars’ Center or WCSC after 2002), Wontamo stayed in the city. Twenty years later, the economic development grad is still working in the refugee and immigrant services field as senior vice president of U.S. programs for World Relief, a global Christian humanitarian organization.

“It was my internship that was such a meaningful experience for me and led me through all of the steps to get to where I am,” she said. “So, I’m a huge fan of the program.”

Anisa Leonard ’21, a social work grad originally from Kenya, interned at Voices for a Second Chance, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals returning home from incarceration, during her spring 2021 semester in the program.

“The WCSC program was absolutely foundational in getting me to where I am now,” said the social worker. “It sparked my interest in working with people who are marginalized in so many ways, especially in a city so impacted by race and gentrification.”

Genesis Figueroa joined Ryan Good on stage for a conversation, reflecting on her experiences in the program during spring 2025. The 91����Ƶ senior, who is double majoring in political science and Spanish, interned at Catholic Charities in its immigration legal services department, where she provided translation, interpretation, and administrative work. She said she hopes to become an immigration lawyer.

“It definitely solidified what I want to do after college and what type of work I want to do,” she said. “It solidified my passion for it.”

Another 91����Ƶ senior, Dia Mekonnen, remembered living at the Nelson Good House with 13 other students during summer 2025. “It was really packed,” she said. “But it was really nice to connect with them. It was nice to cook together, to be able to share our perspectives, and we still hang out.”

Baker-Shenk credited Nelson Good, along with many other heroes, with the courage and vision to implement and sustain the idea of the D.C. program over the years.

“One of the many things he taught me, and it was a little hard for me to take back in the ’70s, was that institutions deserve our love and our commitment and our care,” he said. “Fifty years later, here’s an institution that has carried each of us in this room in one way or another, and it happened because it was nourished and encouraged.”

Kirk Shisler ’81, vice president for advancement, is a proud member of the third cohort of students in the program (1978-79). He told guests there were many ways to support the program. One such opportunity is through the Dr. Kimberly Schmidt Endowed Scholarship, which was dedicated during the program’s on-campus reunion at Homecoming 2025.

“Financial aid is such a critical part of the story for every student, and it’s an obstacle,” he said. “It’s an obstacle to participation in this program and others. And so what we can do to mitigate that through donor-funded aid is an opportunity we want to focus on.”

Learn more about the 91����Ƶ Washington Semester at .

Read more:

• Sept. 2025: Rebranded 91����Ƶ Washington Semester celebrates 50 years of career-building and community
• Nov. 2016: Forty years of service and learning celebrated at WCSC’s Nelson Good House
• Aug. 2015: Washington Community Scholars’ Center celebrates 10 years at the Nelson Good House in Brookland
• March 2014: The history of the Washington Community Scholars’ Center

On Oct. 11, during a homecoming celebration, the 91����Ƶ Washington Semester program (formerly known as WCSC/WSSY) commemorated its 50th year with a special event held at the campus Student Union. The milestone gathering brought together students, alumni, faculty, and staff to celebrate five decades of experiential learning and community engagement in Washington D.C.

A highlight of the event was the renaming of the Washington Semester’s endowed scholarship in honor of Professor Emerita Kimberly Schmidt, who served as director of the program for 22 years. Dr. Schmidt was recognized for her outstanding leadership, innovative teaching, and commitment to student development throughout her tenure. The scholarship, now named the Dr. Kimberly Schmidt Endowed Scholarship, helps make it possible for all 91����Ƶ students to access the opportunities available through the Washington Semester.

In presenting this honor, current Washington Semester Director Ryan Good noted Schmidt’s leadership in shepherding the program from a nine-month model to three terms per year to better accommodate shifting student needs and her critical role in moving the program to a new facility in 2005. “Over 22 years, Kim worked tirelessly to find internships for hundreds of students who came through the program during her tenure,” Good said. “She is a wise and authentic mentor, who gave generously of herself to support students as they worked to make sense of the city and themselves.”

“I am humbled and honored to have this important scholarship named for me,” said Schmidt. “This scholarship reflects ���ѱ�’s values and highest aspirations for its students. Expanding the Washington Semester’s vision of life-transforming, career-launching internships, community life, urban exploration, reflection, and analysis to first-generation college students is an appropriate expression of ���ѱ�’s emphasis on leadership and service.”

Schmidt also reflected on the changes she witnessed in the program over the years. “Almost 30 years ago, when I first started working for 91����Ƶ, many of the students in the Washington Semester were born into Mennonite families, reflecting the general student body at 91����Ƶ,” she said. “During my time, I saw significant shifts in student demographics. We went from being a predominantly white Mennonite program to one of true diversity and inclusion—not only in our subject matter and internship placements, but also in our student population.”

By the early 2010s, many Washington Semester students were students of color, including immigrants from Africa and Latin America. “They made a deep impression on me as they explored the legacies and realities of oppression in U.S. history and current culture and made connections to their own life experiences,” Schmidt added.

The endowed scholarship was first established 10 years ago to celebrate the program’s 40th anniversary and to promote inclusion and diversity. “Rising tuition costs made it clear that financial assistance was becoming ever more critical,” Schmidt explained. “The scholarship has grown from supporting one or two students annually to five or six. We hope to continue expanding it to reach more students and offer additional assistance and career-launching opportunities.”

As it has for 50 years, the Washington Semester supports ���ѱ�’s ongoing commitment to transformative education, leadership, and service—values that continue to guide the program’s mission in preparing students for meaningful engagement in their communities and professions.

For more information about the 91����Ƶ Washington Semester, visit .

A city divided, Washington D.C. is at once violent and magnificent. Its political and cultural institutions attract politicians, academicians, artists, and immigrants. Rhythm and color from around the globe embellish Washington’s streets and invigorate its neighborhoods.

Thus begins the syllabus of “Servant Leadership in the Urban Setting” taught by Professor Kimberly Schmidt, who recently announced her retirement after serving as director of 91����Ƶ’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC) for 22 years.

In that time she’s helped to foster the interests and careers of countless 91����Ƶ students, many of whom have left the program and the city with a unique and life-changing understanding of sociocultural dynamics and the legacy of history. 

Besides the many programmatic and facility changes she engineered over the years, Schmidt is known among colleagues and former students for her relationship with the city itself, as evidenced by the intimate way in which she writes about it. One way she shared that relationship with her students was through historical walking tours – leading them down city streets and narrating the monuments, architecture, and murals they passed by.

“These experiences always focused on how the interrelated dynamics of race, gender, and class shaped the city’s polarities and disparities,” Schmidt explained. 

Sabrina Tusing ’07, now a librarian with the Oregon City Public Library, remembers these tours fondly. 

“I recall walking through Dupont Circle and learning about the life of Washington-born musician Duke Ellington and visiting a neighborhood to study architecture and artwork of the Langston Terrace Dwellings,” Tusing said. “My understanding of and appreciation for Washington D.C. was greatly enriched by the knowledge and passion shared by Kim.”

Chelsea Brubaker ’21, who was an intern at WCSC last fall, agreed.

“I would always have some sort of question about architecture or our destination, and she would always launch into a detailed explanation,” Brubaker said. “The conversations were fascinating. Kim was also unbelievably understanding in her own way, always making sure that the students were taken care of and that they were faring as well as they could be in the midst of a pandemic.”

The city has changed dramatically since WCSC’s inception. It’s gotten larger. What was formerly a majority Black population has become about evenly split between Black and white residents. It’s become wealthier, too, often at the expense of pricing out its longstanding citizens of color. Schmidt never shied away from teaching her students the difficult truths about the city’s history and character alongside its achievements.

“As a teacher Kim was always creative and shared a wealth of knowledge,” said former assistant director Doug Hertzler ‘88, who’s now a senior policy analyst with ActionAid. “History and its atrocities and struggles for redemption are a lot closer to us than we think and we make history everyday. Thank you, Kimberly, for all the history made and uncovered.” 

In a farewell address during Schmidt’s retirement celebration, Hertzler added that without her leadership, “91����Ƶ would probably not have a program in Washington D.C. today.” 

Indeed, Schmidt was hired in 1999 “to revitalize the program and to put the ‘study’ back into the ‘study-service year,’” she said. Then called the Washington Study Service Year – fondly known by its acronym “WSSY,” pronounced just as it’s spelled – the program ran one nine-month term each year.

Schmidt, an alumnus of Bethel College who earned her doctorate in American history at Binghamton University, was then a mother of two young children. With a special interest in Amish and Mennonite women’s history, she had previously taught American studies at University of Maryland – College Park. 

“The WSSY program was, as one local board member put it, ‘withering on the vine,'” recalled Schmidt. It was underfunded to the point that faculty worked in a garage with no heating or running water.

She set to revitalizing the program from top to bottom, including adding or revitalizing MOUs with Bluffton, Bethel and Goshen (Regis was added in 2015) and reconfiguring offerings into fall, spring, and summer terms. Schmidt developed seminar and servant leadership classes and cultivated relationships with high-profile internship hosts and other universities.

“I made it into a kind of a game to see if I could secure internships for WCSC students at institutions with worldwide reputations,” Schmidt said. It was well worth the effort – students have been placed at the Smithsonian Institution, National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and on Capitol Hill. 

“It’s been especially gratifying to place students in internships where mentors are former WCSC students,” she said. “This little scrappy program and our students have held our own in this competitive, big city environment.”

Schmidt also orchestrated the renovation of and move to the building on Taylor Street where WCSC is still housed. The previous house on South Dakota Avenue was “dilapidated,” and in violation of D.C.’s building code, she explained. Schmidt worked with WSSY founder Nelson Good to fundraise money for the new property, and with architect David Conrad to construct a house whose very design would promote community-building. 

“The mortgage was paid off last fall and 91����Ƶ now owns a strategically-located building within a 10-minute walk of the metro,” said Schmidt. 

Following the success of that endeavor, she was emboldened to start a new campaign to fund scholarships for commuter students of color.

WCSC will continue under the leadership of Professor Ryan Good, who has been with the program since 2017 and co-directed the program with Schmidt for the past two years. 

“Kim’s vision for the transformative power of internships, community living, and immersive experiences outside your comfort zone has changed the lives of hundreds of students over the past two decades,” said Good. “Her leadership through the transformation of the program to three terms per year and the acquisition of the Nelson Good House paved the way for a new and vibrant chapter in the program’s history. She has been a tireless defender of this program; the WCSC will lose a champion when Kim retires.”

After 22 years of growth, stress, and success, Schmidt is ready for the next chapter of her life. She’ll stay in touch with students and with teaching as the leader of a summer 2022 cross-cultural focused on “A Women’s West: Native American Women’s History and Culture.”

Otherwise, she says “my options are open.”&�Բ�����;

This scholar will not stop researching, writing, and sharing. Among her career highlights at 91����Ƶ was co-chairing with colleague Mary Sprunger the 2017 conference “Crossing The Line: Women of Anabaptist Traditions Encounter Borders and Boundaries.” This role was a reprisal of another important contribution she made, co-chairing the committee which hosted a 1995 conference at Millersville University, the first to focus on the history of women of Anabaptist tradition. 

Schmidt is a co-editor of “” and the author of the WILLA Literary Award finalist “Magpie’s Blanket.”&�Բ�����;

She already has one new book manuscript currently under peer review by a Southern Cheyenne cultural consultant, and two journal articles forthcoming on topics of women’s history and gender theory. And she’s just gearing up.

“I want to take a year to write the next (fourth) book and then after that I’m open to possibilities,” Schmidt said. “Memories of leading walking tours, interactions with students, the overseas opportunities, and the professional relationships with folks across the spectrum of work in DC and at 91����Ƶ is what I will carry with me as I leave.”

died last Friday, leaving with us his lifetime legacy of advancing civil rights, starting as a young man as a participant in the Freedom Rides, chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and an architect of and speaker at the 1963 March on Washington. He survived the infamous Bloody Sunday in 1965 – leading over 600 peaceful protestors over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, headed for Montgomery, when they were attacked by Alabama state troopers. 

Lewis began leading annual pilgrimages to Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma in 1998 as board co-chair of the . Faith & Politics Institute was founded in 1991 to urge public officials to stay in touch with their faith and values as they shape public policy.*  U.S. senators and representatives, presidents, and world leaders joined him each year to better understand racial injustice and work towards reconciliation and healing. 

“Through his passing, the nation has lost a truth teller. He was the moral conscience of both congress and the nation,” says Liza Heavener ’07, who worked at the Faith & Politics Institute after interning for them as an 91����Ƶ student. She accompanied Lewis on six pilgrimages to Alabama. 

Reflecting on the pilgrimages, Heavener said, “Walking the history of the Civil Rights Movement alongside him made the history books come alive. I was a 19-year-old white girl from Souderton, Pennsylvania, and through his stories, I suddenly had a totally different understanding of the history of racism in this country and the courage he had to stand up for what was right.”

Heavener remembers Lewis referring to himself as the “Boy from Troy,” who would practice preaching to his chickens.

“The legacy he leaves for me is that ordinary people can do extraordinary things and leave lasting ripples in this world … In all the years and interactions I had with him, he presented himself the same way each time. He was humble and showed no ego.”&�Բ�����;

She recalls Lewis speaking with President Barack Obama on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and then showing the same respect to a young man from Selma who walked up and asked him for a photograph.

“There was no difference in his mind in how he treated them. He viewed everyone as equals. Exactly what he had fought for throughout his life.” says Heavener. 

Kimberly Schmidt is director of ���ѱ�’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center in Washington D.C. and helps to set up internships for student participants. Faith & Politics Institute has hosted 14 students, most of whom travelled on the pilgrimages, since 2008, and an unknown number before that time. 

91����Ƶ News asked Schmidt and some of these alumni who met Lewis through the institute to share their memories of him. Here are a few responses on short notice:

I’ve been grieving Congressman John Lewis’s death which feels strange because I didn’t know him personally. But [for me as] an expatriate,* John Lewis was one of the few people that made me proud to be American. One of my most vivid memories of the Congressman was at a book launch for his graphic novel “March,” which tells his life story and other key civil rights events. While part of the room was filled with politicians, there were a fair amount of young adults and kids invited as well. When he began sharing his testimony, his eyes lit up as he reminisced about his youth and getting into ‘good trouble’. Throughout the pilgrimages I went on, he always made time to meet with young people and have real conversations about justice. One of the most important lessons I learned from Congressman John Lewis was that the fight for justice is not only a life-long commitment but one that must be shared with the next generations. 

– Nika Hoefle ’16, who interned at the Faith & Politics Institute in 2014 and joined their South Carolina pilgrimage in 2016.

I tried to communicate with my students what a privilege and honor it was to speak with him personally … When I got to know him, he was soft-spoken, humble, and mostly a quiet presence. He spoke with conviction but never raised his voice, never postured, never sought publicity. As an intern on Capitol Hill just after my own graduation from college, his demeanor was quite a contrast to so many politicians. That made a strong impression.

– Kimberly Schmidt, co-director of the Washington Community Scholars’ Center.

The memory of Congressman Lewis that stands out for me was our visit to Parchman Prison (the Mississippi State Penitentiary) where he was incarcerated following his participation in the Freedom Rides. He, along with former Congressman Bob Filner—a fellow Freedom Rider—shared about their incarceration experiences in the chapel at Parchman. It was particularly powerful because I think it was the first time either man had returned to Parchman since their imprisonment. More generally, I recall members of Congress and other participants gravitating toward Congressman Lewis at our various stops in Mississippi because of the authority of his experience and accomplishments. We all wanted to get a chance to learn from his wisdom, and I’m glad to have had the brief opportunity to do so.

– Regina Wenger ’09, who interned at the Faith & Politics Institute in 2008.

*Editor’s note: Faith & Politics Institute was founded in 1991 to urge public officials to stay in touch with their faith and values as they shape public policy.  The organization’s founder was Marian Franz, a Bethel College graduate who started Mennonite Central Committee’s Washington D.C. office with her husband, Delton. She also was the first director of the nonprofit organizations Dunamis (founded 1971), a Christian organization that lobbied policymakers, and the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund (founded 1981). Schmidt, also a Bethel alumna, says she counts Franz “among my mentors.” Another notable connection to Franz and FPI is through Daryl Byler, former executive director of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding from 2013-19, who had also led the Washington D.C. MCC office. 

More on interns at Faith & Politics Institute:

WCSC intern wins applause, and Europe trip, from The Faith & Politics Institute

During internship, senior Sara Ritchie mingles with political leaders at Selma march

“My time at WCSC definitely helped me to gain the tools to build effective therapeutic relationships with clients of all health backgrounds. The tools I gained will live in me throughout my nursing career.”

Chrissy Burchette, a recent 2020 graduate of 91����Ƶ’s nursing program, is getting ready to take the state boards and apply for jobs in pediatrics [update: after this article was published, Chrissy passed her boards and was hired by Sentara RMH in Harrisonburg].

She feels ready for the workforce, in part because of her experiences last summer at the Washington Community Scholars’ Center. The program places students in pre-professional internships and provides vocational guidance, as well as for-credit courses and the opportunity to live and work in an intentional community in Washington D.C.

Burchette recalls the experience as “truly remarkable,” one that offered not only the chance to make strong friendships but also gain valuable work experience. Her placement brought her into relationships with elderly patients, many of whom had dementia, at a nursing home and rehabilitation center. She was able to practice and apply one of the foundational models of ���ѱ�’s unique nursing curriculum, the “sacred covenant.”

“My time at WCSC definitely helped me to gain the tools to build effective therapeutic relationships with clients of all health backgrounds,” she said. “The tools I gained will live in me throughout my nursing career.”

WCSC co-director says nursing, pre-med  and other pre-professional health sciences majors have great opportunities in Washington D.C. to find rewarding and challenging internships. For many students in these programs with demanding course schedules, finding time for the required cross-cultural experience is difficult. Summer is one option, but with foresight and planning, students can fulfill cross-cultural requirements and gain valuable on-the-job training in the fall and spring as well, said Schmidt.

Read on to learn more about Chrissy’s time at WCSC.

For my 10-week internship, I worked at a nursing and rehabilitation center, which cares for elder individuals who are particularly vulnerable and of low socioeconomic status. Within my internship, I assisted the activities director in the implementation of daily unit activities.

This experience fit well within my education as a senior nursing major, as it provided me the tools to build effective therapeutic relationships with clients of all health backgrounds. Many of the patients I worked with were diagnosed with dementia, giving me the opportunity to work with a population of individuals with an unpredictable disease.Within the span of 30 minutes, patients could go from giving me advice and telling me past stories, to not knowing who I am and showing combative behavior. My plans after graduation include working with the pediatric population. Although this is the complete opposite from the population I was working with at my internship, the tools I gained from elderly patients will allow me to utilize therapeutic relationships within the pediatric population who exhibit unpredictable behavior as well. 

The opportunity to communicate and empathize with others who are going through a difficult time was my favorite experience within WCSC, as it furthered my ability to utilize the “sacred covenant” of the 91����Ƶ nursing program. The sacred covenant describes several aspects of the Holy Bible including: agape love, justice, advocacy, empowerment, grace, partnership, presence, reconciliation and service. Through the use and understanding of these topics, nurses will be able to build effective therapeutic relationships with their patients. My internship allowed me to implement these aspects of the sacred covenant. As I built these relationships, I was able to cry with my patients and pray with them.

Although I graduated from this program several months ago, the tools I gained will live in me throughout my nursing career. The ability to truly empathize with my patients is a tool that often gets overlooked due to heavy workloads and short staffing. However, I believe that the empathy I learned through my internship will now come naturally, and I will be able to utilize this technique with all my patients regardless of staffing issues. 

A memorable experience I have from this summer is when I set up a nail salon. Another young volunteer and I decided to set up a spa day. I downloaded a Michael Jackson playlist on my phone after hearing he was a favorite among the residents. The volunteer and I began to have “girl talk”—about boys, clothes, and anything else we could make up—and we succeeded in helping the residents to relax. The smiles and laughs we saw on the residents were truly remarkable; one could tell the residents missed this type of bonding. I had never seen these patients laugh before, but on this day we couldn’t get them to stop. 

I encourage students to consider the WCSC program. I learned that you don’t need to go across the country to experience a cultural shock. The friends I made within the WCSC house will be my friends for years to come as we still meet up to this day. The Washington Community Scholars’ Center experience was truly remarkable and I am so glad I chose it.

It was on her cross-cultural semester, in the spring of 2018, in the jagged, rocky hills of the Sonoran desert, when 91����Ƶ (91����Ƶ) Spanish and writing studies double-major Elizabeth Nisly knew she was called to the field of immigration justice. Her group spent a week with Frontera de Cristo, a Presbyterian, “binational border ministry” that works in the neighboring cities of Agua Prieta, Mexico and Douglas, Arizona. 

“They made an issue that had seemed very black and white have a lot of nuance, basically drawing out the humanity in the border story and the people who decide to cross, and also the people who decide to police it,” Nisly said. She felt then, “I need more of this.”

Nisly went on to intern last summer with Frontera de Cristo: working on the website and newsletter, teaching English, and creating programming for children whose families were waiting for their asylum case to be heard. 

This semester, she is an intern with the while at ���ѱ�’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC).

“It’s exciting to be in a place where everybody really believes in the work they are doing,” Nisly said.

Interns and immigration

She’s not the only student at WCSC this semester gaining professional experience in the immigration field. James Dunmore, a liberal arts major, is working with , a platform of Faith in Action. He’s travelled for trainings twice: In late January, to New Mexico to and in mid-February, to Las Vegas.

In Washington D.C for 40 years, the WCSC program has cultivated strong connections with nonprofits serving the Latinx population.

“We have students interacting with Latin American immigrants every semester within a variety of fields,” said WCSC co-director Kimberly Schmidt. “Last semester, an accounting major worked at Latin American Youth Center, a nursing major was at La Clinica del Pueblo, and social work majors were with Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services and Ayuda.”

Nisly spends her days in D.C. translating legal documents, researching cases, and interpreting for clients. She works alongside a volunteer attorney and a law student, lending her Spanish skills to their “legalese.”

“It’s a good outlet for the general anxiety I feel about our immigration system,” said Nisly. “Yes, it is still a scary and terrible system, but at least I helped a client communicate with their lawyer today, or at least I translated a document to help with a case. At least I’m learning about what it takes to help people navigate this system.”

Summer in the borderlands

Nisly saw firsthand last summer how difficult it is for migrants to navigate the immigration system. Her time with Frontera de Cristo, looking after the children at the U.S.-Mexico border, was by turns a joyful and sorrowful experience. She has stacks of drawings that the children made for her.

“They are bursting with energy and creativity,” Nisly wrote in a newsletter article for the organization. “They have dreams: one wants to be a teacher, another a doctor. One little girl drew a picture of the school she will teach in one day. It’s surrounded by flowers and apple trees.”

Other classes were taken over by the shadows that haunted the childrens’ families. Nisly remembered one boy saying that he was frightened, because there were men who wanted to kill his father.

“That’s a lot of weight for a six-year-old,” Nisly said. “And then the other kids started sharing stories of trauma.”

The asylum seekers generally waited at the border for about seven weeks to enter the United States. After entering, their asylum cases can take up to multiple years to be resolved. Sometimes, Nisly would serve as a chaperone for the families camped out at the border, using her presence as an American citizen to protect them from being targeted by the cartels for kidnapping or other exploitation.  Throughout all these experiences, and wherever Nisly ends up after this semester, “I hope that whatever I end up doing helps the people coming to the U.S. to maintain their dignity and humanity.”

2/14

The program, in Washington D.C. since 1976, provides students with professional internships in fields from youth work to immigration services to health care. It is also a “community-building endeavor,” with students living together in the Nelson Good House in the Brookland neighborhood of Northeast Washington D.C. They explore Washington’s cultural and historic attractions, and learn about urban issues such as gentrification.

“WCSC has long-term connections and a history of successful placements with many area organizations,” said co-director Kimberly Schmidt. “We are one of the few liberal arts universities with dedicated buildings and a local staff, which shows a real commitment to offering this kind of resume-building and urban cultural experience to students in all academic programs.”

WCSC also has cooperative agreements with Mennonite-affiliated “sister schools” and welcomes applications from Goshen College and Fresno Pacific University students.

This semester, nine 91����Ƶ, one Bluffton and two Bethel students are enrolled. They and their placements include:

Caitlin Campbell, an accounting major from Chester Gap, Virginia, is interning at the , which provides an array of programming for low-income youth, supporting their transition to adulthood 

Brenda Miramontes, a social work major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, is interning at , which offers legal, social and language services to immigrants in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Alyssa Gore, a business administration and accounting major from Virginia Beach, Virginia, is interning with the finance department at the .

Mia Swartley, a social work major from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is interning at , which focuses on the provision of direct legal immigration services to foreign-born individuals and their families.

Clarkson Wolfe, a liberal arts major and psychology minor from Staunton, Virginia, is interning at , which works to end torture around the world and empower survivors in the DC area. 

Sarah Balzer, a Bethel social work major from Inman, Kansas, is interning at Faith in Action’s , a network of congregations in the region that provide support and solidarity to neighbors, friends, and family who fear being detained, deported or profiled.

Akiyaa Hagen-Depusoir, a Bethel social work, history and political science major from McPherson, Kansas, is interning at which provides a holistic, research-based continuum of academic, youth development, and basic needs supports designed to empower children

Tajah Miller, a social work major from Waynesboro, Virginia, is interning at , providingcomprehensive and compassionate health care to homeless men.

Grant Amoateng, a social work major from Bristow, Virginia, is interning at , which offers peace education, group activities and a safe environment away from violent surroundings for children.

Bruce Cypress, an interdisciplinary music major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, is interning at , where he’ll work with theater sound technicians on Mosaic’s Main Stage shows.

Miguelina Montiel De La Cruz, a nursing major from Charlottesville, Virginia, is interning at ,  which provides health and mental health services to low-income Latinx and Spanish-speaking immigrants

Sam Krizek, a Bluffton writing major from Columbia Station, Ohio, is interning at , which creates content in print, film, theater, photography, audio, illustration and more, all for the purpose of providing economic opportunity for and elevating the voices of people experiencing homelessness.

Through its strategic location in Washington D.C. and over 40 years of relationship-building with local organizations, WCSC is well-situated to provide impactful learning and internship experiences for all students, including those in ���ѱ�’s new political studies and global studies majors. Political studies students will have a semester at WCSC built into their program.

“WCSC has long-term connections and a history of successful placements with many area organizations working in public policy, advocacy, and international aid, among other fields,” said Director Kimberly Schmidt. “We are one of the few liberal arts universities with dedicated buildings and a local staff, which shows a real commitment to offering this kind of resume-building and urban cultural experience to students in all academic programs.”

During the visit, students majoring in history, peacebuilding and development, and global studies learned how their studies might apply to different types of positions and professions.

Informing politicians

The day began at the . After a tour, the group settled in for a discussion about MCC’s initiatives. MCC staff described how their office brings policy points from the organization’s worldwide peacebuilding and humanitarian projects back to Washington to inform politicians at the national level and advocate for justice issues.

“MCC’s D.C. office provides students [with the opportunity] to learn the nuts-and-bolts of advocacy work from within a pragmatic but also deeply Anabaptist setting,” said history professor Mark Metzler Sawin.

Members of the , a local group that includes several 91����Ƶ and WCSC program alums, joined the conversation for lunch. Pastors discussed how they have worked to reconcile and bridge the divide between the political overlay of DC and local populations that remain underserved and underrepresented.

Connecting equity issues to international challenges

Discussion of this local landscape offered context for the group’s next stop at , which engages in community organizing for equity and local housing rights. Here they joined current WCSC students for a special seminar with the organization’s leaders and with intern Kamran Mamedovi, a second-year graduate student at ���ѱ�’s . Mamedovi and another fellow graduate student are completing a required semester-long practicum while living in community with WCSC students.

Mamedovi described why he chose ONE DC for his practicum and his initial goal of learning frameworks from the Black struggle for equality in the US that he could apply to situations of ethnic inequality in his home country of Georgia. Along with ONE DC staff, he discussed the organization’s theory of change, which focuses on structural changes that go beyond service and advocacy alone. While Mamedovi noted that the answers to his questions are far more difficult and complex than he had imagined, he holds hope. “The biggest hope [for structural change] is if you can create an environment where everyone feels ownership and trust–where you feel it’s yours.”

The politics of climate change

The last stop before heading to the WCSC Nelson Good House for dinner was with , a communications non-profit focusing on climate change. The group met with Senior Research Associate Nathan Kauffman ‘10, who participated in the WCSC program during his junior year.

“Nathan’s work vividly illustrates where strong research and writing skills can take you,” Sawin said. “Climate Nexus is an excellent internship option for people interested in environmental policy, but also those interested in honing their persuasive skills.”

Interns contribute to social, political landscape

The visit helped students and professors alike to see the variety of organizations and methods of engaging in policy work that students can explore. “These internships help students gain professional experience and distinguish themselves to potential employers,” Schmidt said.

“WCSC offers more than a typical internship program,” said Director of Career Services Kimberly Phillips. “Students are given the opportunity to contribute in meaningful ways and change the social and political landscapes around them.”

Oakes, the scholarship’s first recipient, is a psychology major from Waynesboro, Virginia. In addition to living in ���ѱ�’s Nelson Good house, Oakes has an internship at Pivot Physical Therapy. The placement is providing him with important career knowledge – and required volunteer time for getting into graduate school, he said.

“I have been delighted by my experience at WCSC thus far,” Oakes said. “The teachers and students have been very welcoming and have provided a great atmosphere. I am learning a lot about certain social issues and injustices that I was not aware of before coming here, and that has really shaped my outlook and given me many new perspectives.”

Without the scholarship, however, the opportunities offered by WCSC would have been difficult for Oakes to access.

“Over winter break, my parents and I were apprehensive about the increase in cost going to DC would cause, so receiving this scholarship gave us a little bit more peace of mind and financial stability, which I am extremely grateful for,” he said.

The scholarship, initiated in conjunction with WCSC’s 2016 anniversary celebration, assists students with significant financial need to reduce room and board costs, thereby enabling them to attend the Washington D.C. program. It most directly benefits first-generation college students, students of color, non-traditional students and commuter students such as Oakes.

The inspiration of Professor Kimberly Schmidt, 91����Ƶ senior associate director of development Tim Swartzendruber and former WCSC assistant communications director Erica Grasse, the scholarship fund is anticipated to reach $100,000 in the next two years, said Swartzendruber. Currently, 39 donor households have contributed $55,890.

“WCSC is ���ѱ�’s crown jewel,” said scholarship donor Phil Baker-Shenk ’79, one of the first WCSC students in the program (formerly named Washington Study Service Year, or WSSY). “It has inspired and enabled many good choices that have opened up lifetimes of service, and its model of study, reflection, service, in and for community, is at the heart of the educational ideal long-promoted in the ���ѱ�’s tradition of servant leadership.”

Like other program participants, Baker-Shenk can attest to its long term impact: His internship with the Quaker-established Friends Committee on National Legislation led to his law career in Native American Indian tribal advocacy.

The program was the reason that scholarship donor LeAnne Zook ’95 attended 91����Ƶ – and “continues to be a foundational experience in my life,” she said. It was where she “learned to live in a city and to love living in this city in particular” – and had an internship that changed her trajectory.

“Not every internship is a good experience, which is itself a great experience!” said Zook, now a senior production manager for a unit of S&P Global Inc and a D.C. resident. “Learning that I didn’t want to do what I thought I wanted to do was so valuable that I think everyone should do internships!”

In addition, she said, WCSC is important because it “puts students who have grown up around people who look like them and probably have similar political or social experiences in a house with people who may not be at all like them and in a city where most people around them do not share similar experiences. And that exposure is so valuable to living and loving in today’s dynamic world.”

The sole urban studies program among Anabaptist-affiliated universities, WCSC hosts students from all majors from 91����Ƶ, Bethel College and Bluffton University. Participation fulfills ���ѱ�’s cross-cultural experience requirement.

Miller would know. His first internship turned into his first full-time job.

Now director of development and communications at (known as Wacif, pronounced Way-kif), Miller developed a summer project that matched the skills of intern Austin Hart with the organization’s ongoing needs for market analysis.

Hart, a senior business administration and marketing major at 91����Ƶ, is the second (WCSC) student  to intern at Wacif.

“Washington D.C. is a great location for business administration, accounting, marketing and related majors to find internships that suit their professional goals,” said WCSC Director Kimberly Schmidt.

This summer, five other students in business-related majors participated in the program:

• Tariq Caldwell, a business administration major with a human resources management minor from Mechanicsville, Virginia, interned with . He worked in construction project management for the nonprofit affordable housing developer.
• Jazmine Carter, a business administration major with a human resources minor from Fairfax, Virginia, was an assistant in human resources at the headquarters of the , helping to prepare presentations and briefings.
• Joshua Ehlers, an accounting and business administration major from Bluffton University and Defiance, Ohio, worked at , a nonprofit that provides financial literacy and education for low-income D.C. residents.
• Jack Leyda, a business administration and accounting major from Atlanta, Georgia, assisted the CFO at , a public charter school for adults.
• Brianna Zook, a kinesiology and exercise science major with coaching and business administration minors from Harrisonburg, Virginia, interned at .

Studies in D.C. public policy connect to students’ home communities

Vocational guidance and career development is one goal of the WCSC program, which provides programming in fall, spring and summer semesters to students from 91����Ƶ and other partner schools.

Before even arriving in Washington D.C., accepted students develop their resumes, discuss their professional interests, explore possible internship sites remotely  and participate in phone interviews – a process aided by Schmidt; Professor Ryan Good, assistant director; and program assistant Karlyn Gehring.

The Nelson Good House in the Brookland neighborhood provides accommodations and communal living space, as well as a classroom where students take academic seminars in urban studies and servant leadership – courses which engage students as empowered citizens and future professionals.

“We use this urban environment to help students critically engage ideas of identity, belonging and displacement,” Good said. “We explore how patterns of inequality and development here in Washington, DC affect local communities — and are connected to issues facing the communities our students call home.”

Gaining market analysis skills

During his time at Wacif, Hart went from knowing very little about grants and funding streams to a growing knowledge about how to analyze opportunities in terms of human resource allocation and the potential benefits to business owners and entrepreneurs served by the organization, which promotes equity and economic opportunity in underserved neighborhoods in Washington D.C.

“We had a specific need for this kind of market analysis to inform our development and community strategy over the next few years,” Miller said. “So in this context, that meant applying set criteria to large amounts of data, identifying potential grants that might fit with our organization, making recommendations and getting past obstacles to look for alternate sources of information.”

Hart’s performance on the large and complex project eventually earned accolades from the organization’s top leadership, Miller said, and an honorary place in the “intern hall of fame.”

For his part, Hart appreciated the opportunity to grow as both a person and a professional, and says that the internship has helped him better visualize what future work environment he can see himself in.

Now as he looks for full-time work, Hart has a resume bolstered by his recent internship.

“I’m hopeful,” he says, “that this experience shows to prospective employers that I can step into a position and be successful.”

“There were definitely some lingering questions I had about whether I would be happy doing this in the future,” said Wesp, who juggled the change of major along with his commitment to the 91����Ƶ Royals baseball team.

It didn’t take long though, once he arrived at ���ѱ�’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center this summer for a 10-week internship with IT firm Tech Impact to see those doubts disappear. Wesp will return for his senior year at 91����Ƶ with the confidence that the IT field is indeed where his passions and talents lie.

That’s good news for Professor Kimberly Schmidt, who advised Wesp through the internship process, from the application and interview stages in the spring before he even arrived in Washington D.C. through the first hectic weeks of acclimation.

“Riley had a very successful internship and I’m thrilled,” Schmidt said. “His experience strengthens the partnership between Tech Impact and the WCSC.  I look forward to future placements with Tech Impact.”

Working with an 91����Ƶ alumnus

is one of several companies that have hosted WCSC students for internships in the IT field. In fact, Wesp’s supervisor for the summer was Francis Johnson, a 2007 graduate who also interned at Tech Impact while in the WCSC program. “I came here and never left,” he joked.

Johnson, now based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is Tech Impact’s director of technology services.

The company began in 2003 as a partnership between Microsoft and several foundations to provide IT support for nonprofit clients. From several locations around the country, network technicians and staff help with an array of problems, from troubleshooting to general maintenance. The company also has several successful workforce training programs.

Over the summer, Wesp experienced the entire range of ways that technicians interact with clients from providing consultations by phone and Skype, to routing in remotely or making on-site visits.

A self-proclaimed “outgoing guy,” Wesp says he didn’t have any challenges with those interactions, but benefited from learning and practicing communication skills in a professional environment.

In just a short time, Wesp says he’s acquired “a ton” of new knowledge and the confidence to pursue both his final year of studies and a future in the profession.

“Working here has solidified that this is what I want to do in the future,” Wesp said. “I’ve loved it here and I’ve loved the people I’ve worked with. Every day, I learn something new. Now I can definitely see myself doing this 20 years down the road.”

Vocational guidance

The WCSC program is one way of fulfilling ���ѱ�’s cross-cultural requirement, but students also complete 14 units on topics related to vocational preparation and urban studies. Schmidt, along with Professor Ryan Good, teach courses and also mentor students in their new workplace environment. Program Assistant Karlyn Gehring is also an important contributor to day-to-day operations.

“One of our program goals is supporting the internship experience by facilitating reflection and engagement around where students want to go professionally, how they can get there, and what values they want to have shape those decisions,” Good said.

Wesp says he’s “definitely grown as a person,” stretched by the challenges of living with 13 other students in the Nelson Good House. Sharing a room with another student, and living with 11 more, has pushed him towards a greater awareness of what living in community means.

“I’ve really learned to pay attention, to work at understanding what people need and want so it can be better situation for all of us,” he said. One lasting memory, he said, is the two-day program retreat to Harper’s Ferry – a time to relax away from the city and “bond together” in ways he hadn’t expected.

A complete list of summer 2018 participants is here.

The 44-year-old bilingual producer collaborates with young, talented and eager consultants to create products for diverse clientele, from consulting groups, corporations and businesses to nonprofits such as the Latino Economic Development Center, the Avance Center, and the Alzheimer’s Association.

Mentoring young people, especially those with interest and aspirations in digital media, has always been important to Villalba, from his initial work as a youth substance abuse counselor to his current communications business.

“A long time ago, someone asked me what my best job would be and I said, ‘working with young people and making films,’ and here I am years later” he said. “I opened myself up to the universe and the universe has blessed me.”

Connecting with Villalba has also been a blessing for 91����Ƶ’s Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC), says program director Kimberly Schmidt.

The WCSC program hosts students in the fall, spring and summer from 91����Ƶ and partnering institutions. Students gain work experience in internships at sites located around the city while earning a full course load of credits, engaging with urban culture and history and living together in an intentional community.

Read more about WCSC summer 2018 participants.

“With a growing number of visual and communication arts majors participating in our program and looking for quality internships with supervisors who provide mentorship and support, we have benefited immensely from Ricardo’s willingness to invite our students into his work,” she said. “He serves diverse communities and those interactions provide valuable learning experiences for our students.”

Practicing diverse production skills

Julian Bussells, a senior digital media major at 91����Ƶ, was the latest student to benefit from an internship with the company. He had a wide range of responsibilities, including “going out to events to shoot video, editing videos to specifications, and also building and updating websites,” he said. “Sometimes the work was overwhelming because there was a bunch of tasks, but I have enjoyed the challenge.”

During this summer’s WCSC program, two other students participated in related internships. Rances Rodriguez was a documentary photographer and videographer for the, which offers arts education to several hundred low-income K-12 students through a wide array of programming. Stephen Sheppard, a double-major in digital media and business administration, created and taught design and photography projects in support of a youth summer arts and peacebuilding program at the (LAYC).

Interns at all three sites experienced cross-cultural immersion in their professional environments, working with participants and clientele, Schmidt said. Both Washington Digital Media and LAYC organizations serve predominantly Latinx populations, while Sitar serves low-income students from diverse populations. “These are valuable cross-cultural immersion experiences,” she said.

Villalbas, Bussell’s supervisor at Washington Digital Media, also has strong connections to LAYC, where Sheppard interned.

What one may think of an unlikely place for one’s talents to emerge is actually “where the universe opens doors,” Villalbas says. He benefited as a high school student from LAYC programs and later returned there as a substance abuse counselor. That position led to a creative public-service-style, youth-oriented video series and later a fundraising video for LAYC, both of which circulated to some notoriety and eventually led to his current business.

Bussells’ experience at Washington Digital Media has confirmed his future career choice (his dream job is to work on movie sets) and helped to give him an idea of working with and for clients – quite a different experience than producing a finished product for a grade, he said. “I’ve enjoyed doing meaningful projects for paying clients, which has given me an idea of what it takes to succeed in the video production business.”

Fun with young artists, photobombs and earning trust

Rodriguez spent his 10-week internship hustling around the center, dodging musical instruments, dancers, singers, paintbrushes and even other digital cameras, as he sought to document the Sitar Center’s ambitious summer programming. Once the children got to know him, they were eager to share their creations, to pose for photos and sometimes even – of course – photobombs.

“I’ll take a group photo and there will always be this one kid making a silly face and I’ll have to say, ‘ok, one more,’” Rodriguez said.

He’s also collected footage chronicling the mural arts program and its participants, as well as the center’s annual musical production (this year, it was “Seussical”) that his supervisor says will be used for fundraising and recruitment efforts.

Storytelling is his passion, Rodriguez says, and he has enjoyed learning how to work with people, in this case kids, to get the most authentic images that will tell a powerful narrative – a skill he’ll take back to 91����Ƶ with him for his senior year, and beyond.

A campus culture that “respects students’ right to protest” – that nurtures both students and the social movements they create, and embraces student activism as being the result of new knowledge at the core of liberation – benefits the entire community, said Hinojosa, a professor of history at Texas A & M. In their activism, students think critically, lead outside the classroom, practice civic engagement, and develop a greater sense of social responsibility.

Hinojosa’s August 14 address on the conference theme of “Being or Becoming a Third Way University” began the two-day event’s broader discussions around campus engagement, civic collaboration and diversity and inclusion, goals that are articulated in the university’s strategic plan.

“Dr. Hinojosa’s address was a helpful invitation as we anticipate the return of students to campus,” said Provost Fred Kniss. “Cultivating students’ abilities to engage with the world is central to our mission, and as an institution we can also learn from their desires for change.”

Conferences an annual tradition

���ѱ�’s faculty-staff conferences bookend each academic year, with the fall event providing gathering in fellowship and renewal of the community’s common purpose and goals.

Braydon Hoover, director of development and annual giving and frequent conference emcee, pointed out that common vision in his welcome: “We’re all here for the exact same purpose … to prepare every single one of our students to distinctively serve and lead in a global context,” he said. “Whether you coach on the grass or you cut it, whether you teach 18-year-olds or students a little older, whether you work remotely or right here on campus, whether you took a break this summer or work diligently all year round, and even whether you hail from the titular religious tradition or another completely different, we – all of us – are 91����Ƶ.”

The event included workshop sessions, worship and fellowship opportunities, and what’s become an annual favorite, “Storytelling,” featuring members of the campus community sharing about their journeys to, towards or within the 91����Ƶ community. Fall storytellers included professors Johonna Turner and Esther Tian; Jasmine Hardesty, director of development and planned giving; and Scott Barge, vice president of institutional effectiveness.

The event was also a forum for announcements about the upcoming academic year, including the observance of MLK Day with extensive service and learning opportunities replacing scheduled classes.

Keynote speaker calls for empowering synergy

Hinojosa knows what it means to envision a different university. While a student at Fresno Pacific University in California, he joined student movements to encourage the hiring of more diverse faculty and expansion of the curriculum and academic programs.

“How could a university in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, surrounded by a large Latinx population and located in an area that gave birth to the greatest and most successful farm workers civil rights movement, not teach a course on this?” he said.

The synergy between his own student activism and intellectual engagement – the “growth of political consciousness and understanding of history,” his own and his people’s – was both personally empowering and beneficial to the campus community.

Now a tenured professor of history at Texas A&M University, Hinojosa also directs the history department’s undergraduate studies and is co-founder and co-director of the Latina/o Studies Working Group sponsored by the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research.

Sharing his pedagogical philosophy that asks “So what? Now what?” with his students in courses about social movements, Latinx history, gender, comparative race and ethnicity, Hinojosa has become a resource, guide and mentor to diverse student activists.

This role – and the work of activism itself – is “messy” and “chaotic,” but “more important than ever,” he said.

In considering the role of the “third way university,” Hinojosa noted the history of socially progressive Christians. While “distorted forms of Christianity got the most play,” they quietly went to work in communities around the world.

“A third way university must build on this radical tradition,” he said.

In response to a question from Director of Multicultural Services Celeste Thomas, Hinojosa elaborated on additional ways of supporting black and brown students in the predominantly white university setting: listening to the voices and perspectives of marginalized students, hiring diverse and/or culturally competent faculty and staff, providing safe community spaces for these students, and prioritizing issues and the history of diverse communities in curriculum and academic programs.

Beyond the keynote

Afternoon breakout sessions offered faculty and staff opportunities to learn more about distinctive programs that link to core values of ���ѱ�’s mission and vision.  

Various restorative justice initiatives and programs were highlighted in a special session hosted by professors Johonna Turner and Carl Stauffer, who co-direct the housed in the . Jon Swartz, associate dean of students, talked about restorative justice as it relates to the campus community and highlighted the growth, and growing interest, in RJ-related trainings. Meg Sanders, director of ���ѱ�’s Graduate Teacher Education program, spoke about the new master’s degree and graduate certificate in restorative justice, as well as the integration of RJ principles and practices into professional training courses offered by the university.

Director Kimberly Schmidt presented on the , ���ѱ�’s Washington D.C.-based program offering cross-cultural urban studies, internship and community living experience. She was joined by Associate Director Ryan Good and Program Assistant Karlyn Gehring.

Doug Graber Neufeld presented on the , a collaborative initiative of 91����Ƶ, Goshen College and Mennonite Central Committee to lead Anabaptist efforts to respond to the challenges of climate change. Neufeld, a biology professor at 91����Ƶ, directs the center.

“I’ll see you later today,” she promises a woman in a wheelchair.

“Have you been knitting? Are you ready for class?” she says a few minutes later to another, then confides that she’s recently met the woman’s daughter, who came on a special visit just to meet her.

Gallagher’s 10-week internship is just one aspect of summer participation at the Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC), a program also offered during fall and spring semesters by 91����Ƶ (91����Ƶ). Bluffton University students share a house in Washington D.C. with students from 91����Ƶ and other partner universities, take a full load of coursework, explore life in the nation’s capital, and delve into a chosen professional field.

The program has been in Washington D.C. since 1976. Some internship sites have partnered with 91����Ƶ since that time and those internships have often led to both job opportunities after graduation and even career positions.

“Historically, social work majors have been the bread and butter of the WCSC,” says Director Kimberly Schmidt. “We have expanded and have strong options for students from other majors but even I find the sheer breadth of our social work practicum site options a little staggering.”

WCSC faculty and staff lay important groundwork before and during the internship, talking with both the student and the supervisor about internship and career goals to ensure the time in Washington is well-spent. The topic of career development is also considered in a course titled “Servant Leadership in the Urban Setting” that helps students consider their future profession in terms of their personal values and faith.

Students benefit from career development guidance

When she first applied to WCSC, Gallagher worked with program assistant Karlyn Gehring to develop her resume, then with advisor Professor Ryan Good to find the right internship site. Good and Schmidt help walk students through the application and interview process for internships before they arrive, and then offer vocational guidance throughout the summer.

Gallagher, a psychology and sociology major from , had worked as a hospitality aide for a year and half at a smaller facility back home in Marengo, Ohio, and was seriously considering a career in geriatrics.

Carroll Manor is a large nursing and rehabilitation facility that serves approximately 240 clients, “mostly low-income seniors of color, a population reflective of demographics in northeast D.C.,” Schmidt says.

Working at a large-scale facility like Carroll Manor has helped confirm what kind of work environment Gallagher prefers – “smaller is better,” she said, “because I want more time to get to know people” – and a possible next move.

At Carroll Manor, her supervisor was one of five licensed social workers in the entire facility – and Gallagher says she observed that the certification, and eventually the earning of a master’s in social work degree, would create more possibilities and options for her future.

“I’m seriously thinking about social work licensure,” she said, when asked about her next steps. “And possibly going to graduate school after I gain some experience.”

Supervisor Vickie Merlo had only good things to say about Gallagher. Working in a facility that serves elderly and infirm residents, some of whom suffer from dementia, is a challenging environment that requires empathy, flexibility and patience.

Gallagher radiates calmness and confidence in her interactions with patients. “Her enthusiasm and just general good spirits are a real asset here,” Merlo said. “We have certain patients who have problems with dementia and behavior who take lots of attention, and Shanon has been a godsend. She’s excellent at approaching people and saying hello and introducinge herself; she just warms up to people easily.”

Intern finds her niche

That trust has resulted in an internship that provided plenty of space for Gallagher to find her niche, which has included one-on-one time with special residents needing more attention, some paperwork duties and the planning and implementation of activities, among other responsibilities.

Even though she has little experience with knitting, Gallagher started the Maple Way Floor Six Crochet Club, which meets twice a week for about an hour. To do that, she found a local expert:  “There’s a lady who really knows what she’s doing, so I’ve pulled her in and asked her to help and I just figure it out along with everyone else,” Gallagher said.

Both Merlo and Gallagher hope the crochet club continues after her internship concludes, but without the cheerful presence of this young intern, that might be tough.

“I’m definitely going to miss this place when this is over,” Gallagher said. “Leaving is going to be tough.”