We are creating local partnerships with several regional development non-profit agencies, cultural organizations, and businesses lead by alumni or friends of Grinnell College. These currently include the Iowa Valley Resource and Conservation Development organization (a five-county non-profit supported partly by the USDA), PowI-80, a county-wide development organization, the Grinnell Regional Medical Center, the Iowa Policy Project in Iowa City, and such alumni-led business firms as GCommerce and Coopera Consulting in Des Moines. Wilson can provide internships for these organizations (we have two interns, one unpaid, with Iowa Valley RC& D this summer) and work with the alumni to develop opportunities for both alumni and students to engage in regional development here. Our focus could extend outward to the "Golden Circle" of Iowa (Des Moines, Ames, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City) that has the majority of the Creative Class in Iowa (see Richard Florida, The Flight of the Creative Class, 2005). I have enlisted many o f the alumni from the Golden Circle to speak in my classes. In reciprocity I have helped to recruit students for them, both for internships/externships and for employment after graduation. We hope that the Golden Circle Project will stimulate student entrepreneurs to generate innovate businesses and other organizations in this region to contribute to the cultural and economic growth of central Iowa. An additional goal of the program is to facilitate any synergies among organizations that can increase the well-being of the region, its population, economy, and environment. Any contribution to the development of Grinnell and the Golden Circle helps to make the college a more desirable destination for our faculty, students, and staff.
Golden Circle Internship Question and Answers
What makes a Wilson Golden Circle partnership anything more special than any other internship program?
Three things make it special: (1) it unites a group of alumni around the theme of regional enhancement with the possibility of creating synergies so that we are more effective together than we are separately, (2) it gives students and faculty a wider sense of how their internships fit into a group effort and encourages them to follow up with this effort through independent study projects, guest appearances for both student interns and alumni in classes, and (3) it creates a stream of opportunities for future employment within the Golden Circle for graduating students and for alumni who may want to move back to central Iowa. In short, internships are only one component of this alumni-based regional development effort. Richard Knapp ’78, who has done much to renovate downtown Grinnell, is another of my former students who is enthusiastic about the Golden Circle Program. Different alumni have different skills, interests, and opportunities to bring to the Golden Circle.
Role of Intern: What do you want the intern to experience? Planning and implementing a specific entrepreneurial project – or doing the daily tasks of any business?
Planning and carrying out a specific innovative project would be preferred, although it is important to not to insulate the intern from the daily operations of the organization. They need to see what is involved in the on-going operation of the organization as well as be involved in a project that might help launch a new initiative for the organization.
Type of Businesses: Do you want businesses that explicitly seek to enhance the economy and way of life of the region – or do you want any alumni business in the region?
As Richard Florida has made clear in "The Rise of the Creative Class" any kind of cultural activity that enhances the quality of life in a region will help to create an environment that supports economic development. It doesn’t have to be a business: Our alum Babak Armajani ’68 helped the state government become more effective; Max Cardenas ’99 has helped non-profit organizations to realize their goals more effectively. The Golden Circle supports all the sectors, public, private, and social (non-profit), because all are involved in regional development.
Number of Internships: How many can you support each semester.
Students are more attracted to summer internships (we could fund at least 15-20) but some are also interested in 2 day a week internships during the academic year. Independent Study projects that follow up on summer internships are also to be encouraged. I have two students who did summer internships with the Iowa Valley RC&D who want to continue their important work with the organization during the fall semester. Funding is not a serious problem.
Recruiting: Do you want alumni to come to you with an open invitation to host internships – or do you want to hand-pick the businesses? Do you want to work with the businesses to design specific internship experiences – or do you plan to leave the details to the discretion of the internship supervisor?
All of the above are possible. I expect that some alumni will jump at the chance to have interns because they have a clear vision of how interns might be used; others might need to discuss the possibilities before deciding whether or not they could use an intern appropriately.In either case we need to have a description of the internship opportunity before it can be advertised to the students.
Application process – for the intern and the business?
The internships description, which could be negotiated with us, would be the starting point, followed by the standard application procedure. The internship site can accept or reject any applicants. Successful applicants apply for funding from the Wilson Committee. We pay expenses, not a stipend, so a budget is part of the application process for summer interns.
How many hours a week will the interns be available to the business?
Summer internships are normally for 40 hours per week for 8 weeks.
What other commitments will the interns have during the internship?
Academic year interns normally have 3 courses in addition to their 2-day a week internships.
What college year will the internship be (Junior, Senior, after graduation transition)?
Prospective interns must have completed their sophomore year. I am working on the possibility of post-graduate internships in the summer following graduation. This is not yet an option. Fortunately we have precedents in post-graduate service opportunities funded by the college.
I would love to have Grinnell interns lead special programming projects for me. I know Grinnell students have the vision, clarity and savvy to do the work well. Meanwhile, I am reluctant to have interns work just a few hours a week, especially when they have competing demands from other coursework.
Summer internships are usually more satisfactory for that reason.
Frankly, I would be thrilled if the Wilson program were a competitive and prestigious program open to applicants who will have just graduated. It would give these future entrepreneurs one last chance to check out the viability of working in the region before they ship out to a more exotic destination.
I like the idea of post-graduate internships too!
