Miami students enjoy serving Dayton through Urban Leadership Internship Program
Applications for the Summer 2027 cohort are due by Oct. 9
Fifteen students in Miami University’s Urban Leadership program spent their summers serving the Dayton community in a variety of ways, ranging from trauma care to data science and the arts.
Miami students enjoy serving Dayton through Urban Leadership Internship Program
Fifteen students in Miami University’s Urban Leadership program spent their summers serving the Dayton community in a variety of ways, ranging from trauma care to data science and the arts.
The Honors College’s Urban Leadership Internship Program (ULIP) is an integrated educational internship experience that combines professional practice, community engagement, leadership development, and urban exploration in the Dayton community.
Students selected for the 10-week internship experience are supported by an $8,000 scholarship for living expenses.
Applications for summer 2027 are open through Oct. 9, and more details can be found at MiamiOH.edu/ULIP. Second- and third-year students from all majors are welcome to apply, and the program is not limited to Honors College students. Each admitted student works with the ULIP Coordinator to find an internship placement that both matches their interests and serves the Dayton community.
Savana Scott is studying Strategic Communication, with a co-major in Entrepreneurship, while earning minors in Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship and obtaining a business operations graduate certificate.
Her internship was with Culture Works, an arts funding and service agency. Her work in donor cultivation got her connected with the Dayton Daily News, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance and other local organizations.
Even better, the connection with Culture Works was Scott’s initiative, exemplifying Miami’s commitment to supporting student interests and career exploration.
“I knew going into (ULIP), I wanted to do something with the arts, and there was not a previous partnership in the program,” Scott said. “I asked Jordyn Clark (assistant director for student leadership and service in the Honors College) if it would be okay if I could search for one, and she was on board. My advice to someone in the future is if you don’t see your niche (listed), it’s still possible.”
Lillian Carpenter is a junior majoring in Data Science and Statistics. She served at Five Rivers Health Centers, where she worked with its quality team, utilizing Power BI and other analysis methods.
The experience was more than numbers for her.
“On my first day of orientation, they talked about the ‘platinum rule,’ where instead of treating others how you want to be treated, it’s about how they want to be treated,” she said. “We dealt with many under and uninsured patients of Dayton, so talking to them and hearing what they actually need from us so we could give them a better experience is something we can use in other parts of life.”
Norah Ndabambalire is a junior majoring in Psychology with minors in Chinese and Entrepreneurship. Because her supervisors at the Artemis Domestic Violence Resource Center knew she would like to be a therapist, she was able to observe support groups, hotline calls and talk to walk-ins.
The toughest part, she says, was separating her work responsibilities and her personal life, particularly with two- and 12-year-old siblings who opened up to her before eventually relocating out of the area.
“If someone tells me they’re sad, I automatically want to make them happy,” she said. “Very early on, from the training and everything, I knew if I didn’t (separate myself), it would hurt long-term. My supervisors were very good at keeping track, checking in, and debriefing with me every day, and my parents helped as well. It was a very enriching experience.”
This summer’s cohort featured 15 students, with 13 from the Honors College. All Oxford colleges were represented, with nine coming from the College of Arts and Science and including each of CAS’ three cognates: natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities.