SECU Public Fellows Internship Program - Summer 2023
The UNC Asheville Career Center is excited to offer the State Employees Credit Union (SECU) Public Fellows Internship Program for the fourth year in a row during Summer 2023. Students accepted into the SECU Public Fellows Internship Program participate in an online 3-credit elective course (IST 325) while simultaneously working full-time (30 hours per week) from June 5, 2023 to August 2, 2023 at their internship site. This is a great, paid opportunity for current UNC Asheville students to intern with high quality nonprofit and government organizations focused on improving life in rural North Carolina for a diverse array of residents. Interns will be paid $16.50/hour by UNC Asheville with the ability to earn up to $4,950 during their internship. The program is generously funded by a grant from the SECU Foundation.
We are seeking students who demonstrate leadership ability, a commitment to volunteer service, a commitment to serving North Carolina at the start of their careers, and strong writing and communication skills. Each completed application will be reviewed using this rubric to determine whether a student meets these expectations. There are 20 established internship opportunities - each site's internship description can be found here. Students have the opportunity to establish their own internship site beyond the 20 established opportunities in coordination with the Career Center to ensure the site meets SECU guidelines. If this is something you're interested in doing, please indicate that on the application document that lists your top 3 sites and top 3
To be eligible for the SECU Public Fellows Internship Program at UNC Asheville, students must:
- be residents of North Carolina
- be currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at UNC Asheville
- plan to be enrolled Fall 2023 / not graduate until December 2023 or after
- have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
- demonstrate leadership and/or volunteer experience
- demonstrate an interest in remaining in North Carolina after graduation
Your application must include the following:
- Resume (include leadership and/or volunteer experience if applicable)
- Cover Letter (include an outline of individual career goals and your qualifications for the program - the cover letter should be addressed generally/to the program, not a specific site)
- Document that lists a) the top 3 sites you're most interested in working with and b) the top 3 skills you'd like to improve through an internship - such as NACE Career Competencies and/or a skill related to your career goals
Note: Students who have their resume and/or cover letter reviewed by the Career Center prior to submitting their application will receive additional points on the rubric - linked below - during review.
Students have the opportunity to establish their own internship site beyond the 20 established opportunities in coordination with the Career Center to ensure the site meets SECU guidelines. If this is something you're interested in doing, please note that on the uploaded document and include a brief description of the site you'd like to use in place of one of the 20 established sites.
Please refer to this rubric to better understand what we are looking for in each document.
- Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP)
- Appalachian Wildlife Refuge
- Asheville Art Museum
- Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (ABCCM)
- Asheville Humane Society
- Blue Ridge Public Radio
- Botanical Gardens at Asheville
- Bounty & Soul
- Children First/Communities in Schools of Buncombe County
- Girl Scouts Peaks to Piedmont
- Literacy Connection (formerly Blue Ridge Literacy Council)
- Literacy Together
- Manna Foodbank
- Mountain BizWorks
- NC Arboretum
- Pisgah Legal
- The Industrial Commons
- WNC Nature Center (Friends of the WNC Nature Center)
- YMCA of WNC
- Muddy Sneakers