1. Shepherd’s Summer Interns Make an Impact Around The World

Shepherd's Summer Interns Make an Impact Around The World The Shepherd Program offers undergraduates three distinct pathways to complete its eight-week, full-time summer internship, each designed to deepen students' understanding of poverty.

By Kelsey Goodwin
October 2, 2025

This summer, students dove into meaningful social impact work from Lexington to South Korea, fulfilling internship credits and their personal vision through W&L's Shepherd Program.

"No matter which path students choose, each internship combines hands-on service with reflective academic work," says Fran Elrod, associate director of the Shepherd Program and instructor of poverty studies, "cultivating both civic responsibility and the ability to envision more just communities."

Framed as a full-time academic course (POV 453), the internship combines professional fieldwork with reflective assignments that encourage students to examine the structural and human dimensions of poverty. Students apply annually in January and work closely with Elrod on identifying the best path to complete their internship requirement.

A popular option for completing the internship credit is through the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP). Students join a national cohort, living and working alongside community partners in diverse locations; W&L covers the program fee, and interns receive stipends, some travel support and need-based grants to make participation accessible.

Mia Remington '28, a global politics major and poverty and human capability studies minor from Medfield, Massachusetts, interned at New Arrivals Institute in Greensboro, North Carolina, through SHECP's internship program. The organization helps refugees reach self-sufficiency through English language classes, assistance with social services applications, citizenship test preparation and life skills seminars. Remington worked in the Summer Literacy, Arts, Music and Movement program (SLAMM), which engaged refugee children in academic and creative activities ranging from arts and crafts to music, sports, math and reading. The program also provides child care to families while parents learn English.

"I wanted to spend my summer with SLAMM because I believe that having a creative outlet is as important as rote learning, especially for refugee children who have been through so much hardship," Remington says. "Sometimes, having the opportunity to just be a child teaches them life skills and how to navigate the world."

Through working at New Arrivals Institute, Remington also wanted to step further into the world of education policy and study how disparities in education affect local communities, along with gaining insight into how to implement policy.

"I learned that education extends beyond the classroom," Remington says. "Education also is community building, communication, friendship, service and perseverance."

The experience was a profound one, both personally as well as professionally.

"One of the most meaningful relationships I formed was with a boy from Myanmar who I saw both at SLAMM and around the community, which deepened our connection," Remington says. "Our bond became so strong that I was honored to attend his coming-of-age ceremony, where he and his brother became Buddhist monks. That moment affirmed what this summer taught me: Community building is essential in anti-poverty work, and understanding other perspectives is key to creating lasting change."

Annabelle Sutliffe '27, a politics and biology double major from Warrenton, Virginia, spent the summer in Savannah, Georgia, working at Tharros Place, a nonprofit organization supporting teenage survivors of human trafficking. Much of the work revolved around directly engaging with the girls in the organization's residential facility and crafting initiatives aimed at improving their health and well-being. Sutliffe also supported the outreach department's work with volunteers, donors and community partnerships. She says she particularly enjoyed organizing a run club for the residents; the club had different workouts and guest runners each week, culminating in a community 5K at the end of the summer.

Sutliffe says she sought an experience working directly with the community, which is why she applied for the SHECP internship.

"Tharros Place interested me as a nonprofit that had a bit more of a niche focus, where I would be able to develop close relationships with the group I was serving," she says. "I learned so much about the type of work that I enjoy. I've long known that I was (and am) most passionate about efforts that promote public health and wellness, but internships like this also grant you better knowledge about work styles, rather than just content. I really enjoyed my coworkers and learned so much from them about their career field and pathways within nonprofits, and I'm excited to explore more opportunities through the Shepherd Program."

Students may also choose to stay in Lexington for the summer to fulfill their internship requirement, contributing to organizations local to campus. These internships are supported through federal work-study or Shepherd grants, with low-cost campus housing and additional completion grants available for those with financial need.

"No matter which path students choose, each internship combines hands-on service with reflective academic work, cultivating both civic responsibility and the ability to envision more just communities."

~ Fran Elrod, associate director of the Shepherd Program and instructor of poverty studies

Jayden Pautz '28, a global politics major with minors in Eastern European and Russian studies as well as poverty and human capability studies, spent her summer working for Campus Kitchen, a long-running program at W&L that combats hunger and promotes nutrition by recovering and reusing food that would otherwise go to waste into balanced meals for low-income community members in Rockbridge County. Interns with the program were responsible for gardening and harvesting produce from the campus garden to later be utilized by Campus Dining or Campus Kitchen; planning, preparing and packaging over 200 meals each week to be distributed to those in need within Rockbridge County; and volunteering their time to provide meals and produce to local partner organizations such as The Community Table, Rockbridge Connect & Nourish and the Rockbridge Baths Farmers Market. Pautz also worked closely with staff at RARA, the local food bank, to teach kids in a summer program about healthy food.

"Being part of the Campus Kitchen internship gave me access to workshops and interviews with people in the anti-poverty career field, which gave me a deeper understanding of what you can do within that career path," says Pautz. "I realize that I can combine my interest in anti-poverty work and global politics to find a career dealing with anti-poverty movements around the world."

Pautz said spending time in Lexington was equally valuable.

"I spent my summer in Lexington because I wanted to meet and connect with people in the community," she says. "Since last year was my first year in college, I spent most of my time on campus, getting my bearings. The summer allowed me to engage with the community on a deeper level than the school year did."

Melissa LaPlante '27, a politics and history major with a poverty and human capability studies minor from Missoula, Montana, interned for Project Horizon, a local organization dedicated to eradicating domestic, sexual and dating violence, fielding client and hotline calls. LaPlante says the experience was borne out of her passion for addressing these issues. She is on the executive board for SPEAK, a club dedicated to the prevention and education of sexual assault on campus, and in June she completed her Washington Term internship with the National District Attorneys Association in Washington, D.C., where her work mainly focused on cases of sexual and domestic violence.

"Being at Project Horizon extended my ability to learn how to help survivors through daily service," she says. "Knowing the devastating statistics or reading about court case scenarios is one thing. Supporting survivors in-person is an entirely new, enriching and often challenging experience."

LaPlante says her experience was formative.

"This internship proved to me the value of civic engagement and compassion in every aspect of my life," LaPlante says. "While my career path is not solidified, I aspire to attend law school and eventually get involved in politics. My internship at Project Horizon reminded me that law and politics are more than just systems; they are lived, or in this case survived, experiences for those whose dignity is on the line. The compassion of the staff at this organization supports the reclaiming of this dignity. I aim to carry this responsibility to maintain compassion, whether in a courtroom or the Capitol corridors. Although I may not know where I will end up, I want my decisions to be intentional and enact changes that protect and uplift the dignity of those most affected by injustice. Ultimately, this experience has defined the values I want to prioritize as I assume my role in the workforce."

Students with unique interests or circumstances can propose an internship experience, allowing them to design meaningful placements in the U.S. or with a university-provided abroad vendor supported by a written proposal and partner letters, with Shepherd providing up to $5,000 toward expenses and access to further university funding.

Nahaza Amatullah '28 secured a placement with BRAC, an international NGO renowned for its work across education, health and social development, in her hometown of Dhaka, Bangladesh, for the summer. Amatullah joined BRAC's Social Compliance Unit, a department dedicated to creating safe and inclusive workplaces in schools, universities, communities and, most notably, factories.

For Amatullah, the decision to intern at BRAC was both practical and personal. As an international student still weighing her majors - likely sociology and anthropology paired with cognitive and behavioral science - she knew the Shepherd Program would require a placement addressing poverty or inequality.

"I'm interested in pretty much any social concern that disproportionately affects women," she says. "And specifically, I wanted to do something in my country. I care so much about the social concerns that affect Bangladesh."

Her experience highlighted the gender dynamics at the heart of Bangladesh's garment industry. BRAC's leadership trainings encourage women to step into supervisory roles, equipping them with knowledge of labor laws, factory policies and strategies for navigating workplace politics. Amatullah shadowed and assisted with these sessions, contributing reports, illustrations and logistical support.

One moment, in particular, stuck with her: visiting a factory that produced jerseys for the World Cup.

"These clothes are the ones everyone across the world is wearing, and you get to see the lives of these women," she says. "We read about it in books, about labor exploitation or unfair wages, but seeing it in person, even in better-resourced factories, was very powerful."

Lily Ha '28, a business administration major with minors in data science and poverty and human capability studies from Naperville, Illinois, designed an internship that would allow her to spend her summer employing her double fluency in English and Korean, she says, "to bridge communication gaps, support cross-cultural understanding and help projects that support communities in developing nations."

Ha interned with Global Civic Sharing, a nonprofit organization based in Seoul, South Korea. GCS promotes sustainable development and self-reliance in marginalized communities around the world. Her responsibilities included assisting with Korean-English translation, supporting research for international aid and education projects and helping create an English language website for the organization.

"This internship helped solidify my interests in service and social impact work," Ha says. "It also deepened my understanding of how nonprofits address different challenges. I definitely feel more confident exploring future opportunities in international nonprofits or corporate social responsibility."