Two students in the College of Arts and Sciences were recently selected for the 2018 Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty’s Summer Internship Program. Catherine Burgess, a sophomore sociology major from Manchester, Vt., Mariel Morel, a sophomore psychology major from Manchester, N.H., were awarded fully funded summer internships through the program. In addition to the 8-week internship, the students will convene in Alexandria, Va., for an opening conference and then reconvene at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland for a closing conference. 

Since joining the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP) in 2015, the University of Vermont has sent students to the SHECP’s Summer Internship Program which places student interns at organizations from across the country that serve individuals and families living in poverty. In 2018, there will be 130 students representing  25 different institutions of higher education. At UVM, the internships are fully funded through foundation giving coordinated by the College of Education and Social Services.

Catherine Burgess is interested in justice, including the criminal justice system. As UVM, she has worked as a TA in the department of sociology, and volunteers with the Liberal Arts in Prison Program (LAPP). She is particularly interested in mechanisms of change to advance social change and justice. She has a fascination with public policy, and ways in which public policy can modify structures, particularly oppressive structures. Post-UVM, Burgess plans on pursuing work involving legal defense before going to law school or graduate school studying criminology or public policy reform.

Mariel Morel is active in InterVarsity, a Christian fellowship that is centered around ideas of multiculturalism, inquisitiveness and acceptance. With InterVarsity, she is a student leader who is part of the “CORE” group which leads all of the activities. In the community, she has worked to support ESL activities for disabled Latino seniors. She is a strong advocate for amplifying student voice. Among other goals, she hopes that this internship will provide her with a “newly fortified love for community and service.” Morel is considering a career that includes elements of developmental psychology, clinical work, education, and researching mental disorders in children and adolescents. Additionally, as a French minor, she also looks forward to apply her skills in France.