Molly Landis ‘23 and Emma Russell ’23 win scholarships to global internships

Two Marianapolis students from the Centers of Excellence received scholarships for global leadership internships this year.

Molly Landis ‘23 and Emma Russell ’23 will be participating in the 2021 Global Impact Virtual Internship offered by Global Leadership Adventures. 

These internships seek to give those ages 14-19 the opportunity to work directly with global nonprofit organizations and social enterprises to prepare them to become future leaders. Along with the core curriculum, each intern chooses an initiative based on the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to collaborate on. 

Landis received a full scholarship, worth $1999, and will attend in the spring. Her internship will include a focus area of social justice in Morocco.  Russell received a partial scholarship of $1000 and will attend in the summer. Her internship will include a focus area of medicine in Thailand. 

Both students will complete 30 hours of self-guided project work and 36 total hours of virtual sessions, which include engagement with their host organization, skill development, and the presentation of their final project. 

Director of Centers of Excellence Dr. Edward Sembor said he is proud of their achievements and is glad to see they will get to gain experience that the pandemic has made difficult to access.

“A strength of the COE program is its flexibility; each student is individual and, with guidance, is encouraged to develop their own practicum experience,” Sembor said.  “The GLA Virtual Internship opens up a wide range of potential experiences on a global level that our students might otherwise not have been able to participate in.”

Landis and Russell both wrote in their application essays that they looked forward to opportunities that would let them help make a difference and be a part of a larger global community, with Russell stating that, “There has never been a better time to be an agent of change.” 

“This internship will be a stepping stone in preparing me for a future working for social justice on a global scale,” Landis said.  “I am ready and eager to be the change I wish to see in the world.”