By Georgia Jackson, College of Arts and Sciences
Arielle Kessler grew up hearing stories about her great-grandmother’s experiences in Nazi-occupied Europe. When the history major came across an opportunity to intern at the Florida Holocaust Museum, she saw it as a chance to honor the many millions of people who did not survive the genocide.
Arielle Kessler archived documents related to the life and legacy of Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.
“My family’s stories are what made me interested in history,” says Kessler, who is minoring in education and aspires to become a history teacher. “Preserving artifacts so others can learn about them makes me feel like I'm really making a difference.”
At the museum, Kessler helped catalogue and archive documents related to the life and legacy of Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, strengthening her research and organization skills through hands-on work.
The opportunity was made possible by a $4.8 million grant from the Mellon Foundation that will support up to 900 students each year for the next four years in otherwise unpaid internships — a game changer for those who can’t afford to forgo paid work or take time away from their studies to pursue extracurricular career development.
“Internships bridge education and experience,” says Addye Buckley-Burnell, associate vice president and executive director of USF’s Center for Career & Professional Development and co-principal investigator of the grant. “Paid internships remove barriers and provide access to students who otherwise might not be able to participate.”
Beneficiaries of the grant — like Kessler and communication major Alyssa Fraser, who interned with the Tampa Bay Community Network last fall — are majoring or minoring in English, philosophy, communication, women’s gender and sexuality studies, religious studies, humanities and cultural studies, history and world languages.
“I had ideas of what I liked to do, but I’d never had any experience testing them out,” says Fraser, who graduated this spring. “I really wanted to put myself out there and make a name for myself in the professional world.”
Alyssa Frasier interned with the Tampa Bay Community Network, where she wrote scripts, snapped photographs and filmed an interview with a Tampa mayoral candidate.
At Tampa Bay Community Network, Fraser got a behind-the-scenes look at the world of media production. She wrote scripts, snapped photographs and even filmed an interview with Tampa mayoral candidate Alan Henderson. The experience gave her a better idea of how the skills she’d developed in her communication courses could translate into the professional world.
“I learned I do pretty good on camera,” she says. “I was also told I have a good radio voice. I’m not sure how accurate that is, but it made me feel more adventurous.”
Employers have been equally enthusiastic, says Lauren Arrington, chair of the Department of English and principal investigator for the grant.
“The response from our community partners has been phenomenal and has underscored the breadth of skills humanities degrees deliver,” she says. “Our students are learning how to communicate the expertise they’ve gained in the classroom to jobs as varied as data analysis for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and grant writing for sports teams."
The Mellon Humanities Internship Program will continue connecting USF students with relevant internships through spring 2030. To sustain the program into the future, the Mellon Foundation will match up to $1 million in private support to build an endowed fund for the program.
“These internships underscore the real-world relevance of a humanities education,” says Elizabeth Spiller, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “By providing paid opportunities, we enable students to apply their skills beyond the classroom, and we also create opportunities for employers to see firsthand the remarkable talent and creativity our humanities students bring to the workforce.”
Learn more about the program and how you can make an impact at usf.to/melloninternships.