Students living at the Washington Community Scholar’s Center and working in Washington D.C. this summer. Back row, from left: Troy Chieffo, Shay Whetzel, Sarah Boshart, Natalie Leake, Abby Bush, Victoria Campbell, Teresa Garcia Bautista. Front row: Jake Lind, Kyle Johnson, Andrew Hindle, Abby Clemens, Nina Simmons, and Jacob Brown. All students are from Eastern Mennonite University, with the exception of Troy Chieffo, who attends Bluffton University. This photo was taken after an orientation session and an all-city scavenger hunt. (Courtesy photo)

Summer interns settle in at Washington Community Scholars’ Center

by Lauren Jefferson

Teresa Garcia-Bautista has a long list of summer goals while living at the Washington Community Scholars’ Center and working in Washington D.C. this summer. The first two are “meet the marginalized” and “make a difference,” which she does each weekday at Catholic Charities, helping to process refugee and asylum seekers, while improving her translation and interpreting skills, and conducting legal research.

The other goals are more oriented towards experiencing life in the Nelson Good House, the intentional community she shares with 12 other college students, and the fun of getting to know the major metropolitan area that includes the nation’s capital. That list includes “explore more places, survive the humidity, maybe get a tan, understand the metro system and get better with my cooking skills.”

Bautista-Garcia’s goals fit those of the WCSC experience, according to associate director Kelsey Kauffman. “Outside of their internships, the students are encouraged to engage with their community life in the house, as well as around the city. Visiting different churches, exploring neighborhoods they might not visit on their own, and attending events around the city that engage issues of race, culture and privilege, complement our weekly seminar discussions.”

The cross-cultural experience represents the final semester for Garcia-Bautista, a senior history and Spanish major from Timberville, Virginia who earned the Cords of Distinction honor during May’s Commencement exercises.

Here’s a list of other WCSC participants and their internships.

  • Abby Bush, a liberal arts major from Souderton, Pennsylvania, is working at N Street Village, which includes a day center for homeless women as well as “integrated mental health, physical health and addiction recovery services to homeless and low-income women,” according to their website. She assists with activities at the center, which include yoga and support groups, and with meals.
  • Abigail Clemens, a history major from Harleysville, Pennsylvania, is interning at the North American Meat Institute, a national trade association that represents companies in the meat and poultry industry. She is writing press releases and media advisories, accompanying legislative staff to Capitol Hill, and attending briefings and hearings. She also reviews the daily Federal Register for information pertinent to the industry, and prepares a briefing for review and distribution.
  • Andrew Hindle is interning at MANNA, Inc., an organization which helps low and moderate-income families with home ownership in the D.C. metro area. He is a digital media major from New Market, Maryland.
  • Jacob Brown assists with the reporting of Washington Nationals baseball games for The Sports Xchange and is also involved in fundraising for the YMCA Metropolitan Washington’s Thingamajig Invention Convention, a STEM event for area youth. He will also provide post-event coverage for the organization’s newsletter. He is a communications major from Achilles, Virginia.
  • Jake Lind, a kinesiology major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, works with DC United’s U23 soccer team, assisting with set-up and transition in practice. He’ll also work with their youth summer camps.
  • Kyle Johnson, a computer science major from Brookneal, Virginia, is an intern with Financial Education Literacy Advisors (FELA), which provides financial education services to partners and clients. He works with Director of Technology Stephen Quenzer ’14, a former WCSC student who interned at FELA and was hired full-time by the company after graduation. Also there is Joel Murray ’14, also a former participant in the WCSC program who interned with Sojourners magazine.
  • Nina Simmons, a nursing major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, is working with children attending Little Friends for Peace summer camp, teaching about healthy bodies and performing nursing duties.
  • Sarah Boshart is an intern with the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, participating in their efforts to create a more restoratively oriented experience for court-involved youth in the DC area. A sociology major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, she works at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding during the school year.
  • Shay Whetzel, a history major from Bergton, Virginia, is collecting oral histories from elders with Iona Senior Services.
  • Victoria Campbell, from Chester Gap, Virginia, is a music education major interning at Saint Anthony’s Catholic School summer camp.
  • Troy Chieffo, a Bluffton College history major, from Newton Falls, Ohio, is interning at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, a community museum in the Anacostia neighborhood which examines American history and culture from an African American perspective. He is researching and developing Wikipedia pages under the supervision of the head archivist.
  • Natalie Leake, a nursing major from Bridgewater, Virginia is interning at Sitar Arts Center, supporting their summer arts and music camp programming.