News

By Jacqueline Campbell

Four Lee University students, Eliezer Bonilla, Dana Pair, Ashley Phillips, and Christina Sarmiento, recently returned from a service internship in Chicago, which was funded in part by a grant from the Dr. Scholl Foundation.

For the last 12 years, Lee students have travelled to Chicago to participate in internships. The internship includes a three-week service-learning experience in combination with the course “Service in Urban Context.”

Students volunteered at Richard Edwards Elementary School during the weekdays, in addition to volunteering in after-school and weekend projects through New Life Centers (NLC) of Chicago in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. The programs serve urban youth and their families.

“We were really able to see how an established inner-city ministry functions and how each type of program they have developed suits the specific needs of the Humboldt Park community,” said Pair.

The students primarily served as tutors and teaching aids for K-5 students at the elementary school and NLC, but they were also involved in programs for other age groups that utilized basketball, spoken word poetry, and break-dancing, among other activities. Students served the community by participating in preparations for weekly food giveaways and volunteering at the annual block party for the community.

The interns also assisted in a jewelry-making class called “Bling” which provides an opportunity for community members to learn how to make different types of jewelry, empowering them to gain business skills and job experience.

“Often times when we think of missions, we think of overseas, but this was in the U.S. and everyone spoke our language,” said Phillips. “It brought about a whole new dynamic of missions work for me.”

Phillips shared that meeting “Momma Judy,” a local resident, was one of the highlights of her time in Chicago. “She was one of the most influential people in the church and in her community. She invited us to her house on several occasions to teach us how to cook the best Puerto Rican food and shared her inspiring testimony with us.”

The program is directed by Dr. Rolando Cuellar, associate professor of intercultural studies at Lee University, and is intended to encourage students to spend time learning, living, and serving in a disadvantaged urban environment. Cuellar is responsible for recruiting students, teaching the associated course, and arranging the internship in Chicago.

“The Chicago experience is all about integration,” said Cuellar. “It is an opportunity for our students to collaborate in a dynamic urban setting where they can integrate their classroom knowledge, passion for service, and Christian character as they experience real life on the mission field.”

The grant provided by the Dr. Scholl Foundation was divided equally among the four students and was utilized to cover the tuition for the internship as well as the majority of the students’ travel expenses. NLC of Chicago provided housing for interns through host homes.

Throughout the 12 years that Lee has offered the internship program, the foundation has awarded grants totaling $65,000 to allow 49 students to intern in Chicago. By continuing to help fund the program, the foundation is not only able to support the at-risk youth of Chicago but is also able to expose the significant needs of urban America to Lee students. Through the experience, interns are able to discover their own abilities to help meet the needs.

The foundation was established by William M. Scholl, M.D., in 1947. He created the foundation to provide financial assistance to those organizations which are committed to the improvement of our world, and the foundation has since contributed millions to that mission.

For more information about the Dr. Scholl Foundation, visit www.drschollfoundation.com.

For more information about the Chicago Service Internship Program, email Cuellar at [email protected] or call (423) 303-5120.

Pictured here are (1) Sarmiento, Pair, “Momma Judy,” Phillips, and Bonilla in “Momma Judy’s” home during a visit (2) Bonilla with children at the NLC eating ice cream on “Fun Friday” (3) Sarmiento with children at NLC after a “Fun Friday” water-balloon fight (4) Phillips tutoring children in math.