Haskins and Campbell receive Competitive Summer Internship Grant
David Haskins will be traveling to Michigan to work in the
Manistee National Forest for his internship this summer.
Designed to enable Maryville College students to attain real world experiences through internships, the Center for Calling & Career (CCC) awarded juniors David Lee Haskins and Caitlin Campbell the Competitive Summer Internship (CSI) grant. The grant provides funding for the students to complete a 10-week long practical experience.
Haskins, a biology major, said that when he first heard about the grant, he already had an internship opportunity available. After working with Dr. Brigati last summer on an NSF yeast cell research internship, which was funded by the college, Haskins first interacted with Dr. Dave Unger, associate professor of biology at MC.
Haskins said that he expressed interest for internship experience to Unger several times after taking an ecology class with the professor. He said that he was hoping Unger could use his connections to his advantage.
“I had to harass him for a few months,” Haskins said.
Unger contacted Haskins a few months later with an opportunity to go to Michigan to work in the Manistee National Forest, where Unger would act as Haskins’ supervisor.
“I would be studying the American marten,” Haskins said. “It’s a small mammal.”
Haskins said that the trip to Michigan is the perfect opportunity for him, because he is hoping to land a career in wildlife ecology, and his internship is also in the vicinity of potential graduate schools.
However, Haskins not only received the CSI grant through the college, but he also received one through the Appalachian College Association.
“I feel extremely lucky,” Haskins said. “I will get paid.”
Not only will this internship be an exploration into potential career options for Haskins, but also it will be the entirety of his senior thesis work. Additionally, both grants request that Haskins, when finished with his work this summer, create a compilation of his experiences.
“I’ll be presenting my data in Knoxville in November,” Haskins said.
Campbell, a theater studies major with minors in French and English, is the other recipient of the CSI grant.
Campbell said that the need for an internship was on a more personal level for her.
“The only way to make your way in theater is to go out and do stuff and meet people who can help you,” Campbell said.
Campbell hopes to receive an acting internship from The
Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va.
But, unlike Haskins, Campbell is still acquiring her internship. She’s working with Dr. Heather McMahon, associate professor of theater, Lisa Soland, adjunct professor of theater, and Robert Hutchens, executive director of the Clayton Center for the Arts, to find a practical experience that suits her needs.
“I want to be a working actress and model in either New York, L.A. or Chicago,” Campbell said. “I just know that I love the theater, and all the people that go along with it.”
Although Campbell said that she has thought about becoming an editor, house manager or even a director, she said that her goal is to be onstage.
Campbell has contacted The Barter Theatre, as well Merit Theatre and Film Group for potential internships. She said that the internship would provide her with an experience that will teach her more about acting, and also about herself.
“It’s going to be tough, but it’s something that I enjoy doing,” Campbell said.