For Community Partners

How does it work?

Local community partner organizations propose capacity-building projects which could be completed by a W&M student intern during a semester or the summer. Civic & Community Engagement selects a handful of projects for each term, based on available funding. We then promote the internships and solicit student applications. Community supervisors interview and select their top candidate, and Civic & Community Engagement pays the student $15/hr to complete the internship project.

How do we select internship projects?

Selecting projects for each round of community-capacity interns is often a competitive process; in 2023 we only had funding for 49% of proposed internship projects.

As we consider proposals from community partners some of the factors we consider are:

• Is the project proposed feasible for the time allotted and students’ general skill sets
• Is there a clear capacity-building outcome; something tangible that will serve the organization after the intern has left and that the student intern can point to as a product of their efforts. Examples include marketing material, data analysis, program recommendations, a presentation or training module, but there have been many creative capacity products.
• Is the internship location near W&M campus (20 minutes or less by car). In the summer we also allow for fully remote internships, but we still prioritize partners who are near William & Mary.
• How do all the intern projects we select engage with a range of issues or skillsets. We are unlikely, for example, to only offer internships focused on marketing in one season.

How are student interns selected?

Community supervisors select their top candidate from a pool of student applicants.

Once a project has been selected as a community-capacity internship, our staff posts the position on W&M GivePulse and promotes it across campus. Students apply during a designated time frame and community supervisors then conduct interviews of their top candidates. Once the community supervisor has selected the top candidate, they notify Civic & Community Engagement staff and we make the student the official offer.

What's expected of the community supervisors?

• Provide clear and reasonable goals for student intern
• Provide appropriate training and on-going support for intern
• Meet regularly with the intern to provide feedback, generally weekly
• Complete an exit interview with the funded intern (details below)
• Submit a community partner evaluation within one week of the internship concluding

What should be included in the exit interview?

This is an opportunity for you to share your evaluation and feedback with the intern at the end of the experience and for the intern to share final reflections with you as well. You may have specific questions or topics you would like to address during this conversation. We encourage you to cover the four topics below as well. Notes from this exit interview may also be of use when completing the community partner evaluation.

1. Ask the student about their accomplishments during the internship. Share what you deem the student’s top accomplishments in the internship.
2. Ask the student about the training and support they received during the internship. Was there anything else they needed to be more successful?
3. Share with the student your evaluation of their skills and career competencies. Encourage them to articulate their learning outcomes.
4. If the student has not already shared their career aspirations or general career next steps for you, ask them to share those. Provide your own perspective and feedback. A critical element of career development is getting the perspective and support from trusted advisors.