While many college students spend their summers back home or working a part-time job, some students at Elon University choose to stay local and give back to the community by interning with Elon’s Recreation and Parks. This organization partners with the Campus Alamance program, a paid internship that connects Elon students with local businesses and nonprofits in a mutually beneficial manner to foster a successful connection between them.
The Campus Alamance project was designed to help interns grow personal skills such as communication and organization and to allow the community to gain knowledgeable and experienced staff members.
“The main goal of the project is to kind of expose them to real life situations in the workplace, time management and public service,” said Kim Brown, director of Recreation and Parks.
Christian Atwater, rising senior and sport management major at Elon University, was able to gain experience and skills that are not attainable in a classroom by interning at the Recreation and Parks department.
“Through this role, customer service and communication is a big one I’m working on just because this role is so forward facing and you have to deal with parents and kids and engage with them on a regular basis,” Atwater said.
Interns are encouraged to help set up events and programs such as “Fun in the Sun”, a camp where children can play outside and eat together.
The town of Elon organizes these events, and the Recreation and Parks interns help set up and promote them to the general public.
With this project, Recreation and Parks brings food and games to the public while ensuring children of the community have a safe place to have fun.
The internship also gives college students the chance to stand out and gain experience as the job market becomes harder to get into. Brown said he encourages students to seek out internships as a way to differentiate themselves and learn about opportunities they may not have previously considered.
“Reach for something that may be out of your comfort zone just to get that experience of having an internship in something you may not know a lot about,” Brown said. “Get out in the community, talk to people before you do the internship.”
According to Brown, the Campus Alamance project is not just an internship but an opportunity to be a leader.
Blessed Eshun, a senior entrepreneurship major who is also interning with Recreation and Parks, said he not only is gaining important leadership experience, but also receiving an opportunity to support residents of the town of Elon.
“The general sense of what we really do here is help out the community and help out the kids and parents with where they need,” Eshun said.
Chase Slesinger-Hall
Chase Slesinger-Hall lives in Aspen, Colorado, and is a rising senior at Aspen High School, where he is an IB diploma candidate. He is the opinion section editor of his school’s newspaper and has been an editor for the yearbook for the past two years, for which he enjoys writing stories that speak to him and his community. A participant in countless extracurriculars, among his favorites are Hope Squad and being a school ambassador, where he strives to ensure his school environment is positive for everyone around him. Other than school and extracurriculars, he can most often be found in the mountains – snowboarding fresh pow, hiking with friends, playing tennis or simply blaring music. Chase is always up for a good time with his friends, and he’s excited for his passions to take him to whatever comes next.
Ethan Ward
Ethan Ward lives in Nashville, North Carolina, and attends NRM Early College High School. He has worked extremely hard to achieve his goals, such as finding his passion and working daily to gain knowledge and experience. Ethan has been volunteering to help others since the start of high school, often helping elementary schools and people in need. He has also been helping his local college with writing, interviewing, social media posts, photography and videography. He recently completed an interview with the NRM college president about the school’s new partnership with a STEM program for students on the east coast. Ethan has been recognized as scholar of the month previously for not only his academic achievements, but his overall character. He plans on majoring in journalism because of his love for writing, the media, politics and sports.