The fall 2015 interns at Eastern Mennonite University's Washington Community Scholars' Center come from three universities. Here they pose with a statue of Frederick Douglass at his former home, Cedar Hill, in Anacostia: back row, left to right, Daniel Williams, Vivian Tejeda, Lania McKoy, Yonaton Daniel, Dane Pitchford. Front row: Dusty Johnson, Amy Fesser, Olivia Poole, Virginia Baisden. (Courtesy of WCSC)

Scholars in Washington D.C. this fall semester land prestigious internships

by Lauren Jefferson

Eastern Mennonite University’s home away from home in Washington D.C. — the Washington Community Scholars’ Center (WCSC) — is just that to three diverse groups of students this semester. Living and working in the nation’s capital and in the multicultural Brookland neighborhood is always a cross-cultural experience, but this group is unique: the nine students living together at the Nelson Good House hail not just from Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), but also Bluffton University in Ohio, and from Regis University in Colorado.

“It’s not unusual for the WCSC to attract students from a range of experience and backgrounds, both internationally and here in the U.S.,” says WCSC director Kimberly Schmidt. “We try to cultivate diversity, understanding that it makes group life that much richer. I’m also delighted with the competitive internships and hopeful that future WCSC students will benefit from the pathbreaking work of this excellent group of students.”

The program recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in the Brookland neighborhood, and will celebrate 40 years in 2016. Students in the semester-long cross-cultural experience come from four institutions, including Goshen College in Indiana. A new articulation agreement with Regis University, a Catholic university in Denver, has widened the program’s reach.

From Regis University

  • Dusty Johnson, a political science major interning with the Office of Congressman Ken Buck, U.S. Representative for Colorado’s 4th congressional district.

From Bluffton University

  • Dane Pitchford, a psychology major working at the American Psychological Association;
  • Olivia Poole, undecided as to her major, in the Office of Congressman John Conyers, U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district; and
  • Daniel Williams, an information technology major working in cybersecurity with the Smithsonian’s Office of the Chief Information Officer.

 From EMU

  • Virginia Baisden, a psychology major interning with the American Red Cross and working with PTSD patients at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center;
  • Yonaton Daniel, a history and political science working in international debt relief with Jubilee USA Network, an alliance of more than 75 US organizations, 400 faith communities and 50 global partners working to build “an economy that serves, protects and promotes participation of the most vulnerable.”
  • Amy Fesser, a social work major, interning with Becoming Church, which works to end mass incarceration;
  • Lania McKoy, a nursing major working at Marie Reed Health Center with Latina mothers and infant care; and
  • Vivian Tejeda, a business major working in Smithsonian’s Folklife Center in the marketing department.