New Sharpe internships connect research, communities
Charles Center summer 2024 interns are trailblazers, not only for being the largest cohort to date, but also for pioneering a new program – Sharpe Action Research Internships.Seven Sharpe Action Research interns are among the 32 students participating in Charles Center internships, which include the longstanding Woody Internship in Museum Studies, as well as the City Research Scholars and Journalism & Democracy Fellowship programs.
Sharpe students represent a wide spectrum of majors and career interests. Through internships this summer with community partners, they are applying their academic training to hands-on, collaborative research experiences designed for social impact.
A real-world on-ramp
Dr. Monica Griffin, Director of Engaged Scholarship and the Sharpe Community Scholars Program, notes that the new internship program not only provides a transformative summer experience but equips students with lifelong academic and professional skills.“Sharpe scholars are doubly challenged to find funded research opportunities, as first-year students interested in non-traditional research with community engagement, and limited theory and methodological training,” said Dr. Griffin. “Sharpe Action Research Internships provide them with a real-world ‘on-ramp’ to the experiences that drew them to the program and to William & Mary in the first place.”
True to the community-based research mission of the Sharpe Community Scholars, the Sharpe Action Research internship supports students who have completed their year in the program in pursuit of a research project, either in Williamsburg or elsewhere of their own design.
Research with — rather than for — people
A focus on community drove Icarus Landaker ’27 to apply for a Sharpe Action Research internship.
Landaker explained that community research requires humility and intentional collaboration. “It's about asking others what they need rather than deciding what you think they need,” they said.Landaker’s examination of LGBTIQ history, civil rights, and advocacy builds upon a project started last spring under the mentorship of Dr. Leisa Meyer, professor of American studies, history, and gender, sexuality, & women’s studies. The product will be an online exhibit of LGBTIQ religious groups in Richmond that will be displayed on the William & Mary LGBTIQ Research Project’s website.
Rigorous research with a purpose
Research with community impact is also what drew Sharpe intern Angel Bradley ’27 to the new initiative.
“I wanted to use the community research skills I gained as a Sharpe Scholar to be part of a larger research goal,” Bradley said. “There can never be a positive change in communities unless there is research that is conducted primarily within those communities.”
In her internship, Bradley is collaborating with Cenevia, a Virginia-based medical practice management company to investigate the medical infrastructure of healthcare providers in Virginia and their presence in historically underserved areas.From this research, Cenevia will be able to better support medical safety net services in these underserved areas, expanding healthcare access for all, according to Bradley.
Bringing it all home
While some Sharpe interns are working in greater Williamsburg, others took their expertise on the road this summer.
Aibo Li ’27 and Monica Xu ’27 met in the Sharpe program and are spending their summer in their hometown of Beijing, China, where they are working with the Beijing Science Center, an organization committed to the popularization of science across the city.
In their self-designed project, Li and Xu are conducting research on public knowledge of antibiotic resistance. Their goal? To create a public information campaign to educate their community about antibiotic resistance and what measures they can take to fight it.Xu explained that, from this internship, “I aim to gain practical experience in applying my academic knowledge to real-world problems and developing skills in public engagement and education.”
Collaborative research on all fronts
Such an aim strikes directly at what the Sharpe Action Research Internships seek to achieve, according to Griffin. “So often, research is thought of as solitary, only for academics, and without any meaningful impact,” Griffin said. “The work of Sharpe Action Research Interns, and all Charles Center interns, illustrates the many ways that research can be collaborative, not only among scholars, but between scholars and their communities as well.”
Sharpe Action Research Internships, like all Charles Center internships, work to connect the liberal arts & sciences with practical applications in the professional world beyond the classroom.
