In 2021, we welcomed 48 interns from 15 schools into our virtual summer internship program. Interns worked on 12 community-engaged projects, focusing on sustainability of RVs at end-of-life, access to healthy food, pedestrian-friendly trails, neighborhood development, safe and affordable housing, community asset mapping, traffic calming, equitable access to data, and K-12 STEM engagement. We received a $1.2M NSF grant to replicate our model in Youngstown, OH, and Louisville, KY, supporting both local and partner communities.
Elkhart Recap
The 2021 Elkhart cohort included 14 interns who collaborated on four community-engaged projects with the guidance of 7 local mentors. These initiatives addressed topics such as sustainable end-of-life practices for recreational vehicles in partnership with THOR Industries, public trail design, bilingual communication within schools, and community asset mapping. Advanced Manu
Advanced Manufacturing
Interns worked closely with THOR Industries in Elkhart to research RV end-of-life cycle sustainability and help identify opportunities to limit landfill waste. Objectives included researching current usability of RVs (lifespan, end-of-life destinations), composing a list of opportunities for reuse and repurpose of RVs, and developing a premature business plan based on RV reuse.
Bilingual Services
This project worked to identify the main issues that arise within the language barriers between bilingual families/students and Elkhart Community Schools’ (ECS) staff and offer the best solutions to close these gaps. These methods included completing a literature review of bilingual education practices and translation devices, a survey of parents/teachers for input/suggestions, and the translation of important documents for ECS.
Elkhart Trails
This project was designed to work with organizations in the City of Elkhart to create a signage proposal for the New River Greenway trail. Promoting more active pedestrian transportation in Elkhart, our interns worked to make it simple and attractive for people to take advantage of the trail. The group researched wayfinding techniques and formulated a proposal plan based on feedback and resources from community partners.
Tolson Neighborhood
The goal of this project was to provide residents of the South Central Tolson Neighborhood with knowledge of assets that already exist in their neighborhood. This was accomplished by creating asset based maps, brochures, and posters that visualize the neighborhood’s greatest resources according to resident surveys.