Serving the City Internship Program Continues to Grow

The+Serving+the+City+Internship+program+connects+Fordham+students+with+New+York+organizations+and+provides+students+with+a+network+of+professional+contacts+and+ultimately+with+paid+internships.+%28Courtesy+of+the+Fordham+University+website%29

The Serving the City Internship program connects Fordham students with New York organizations and provides students with a network of professional contacts and ultimately with paid internships. (Courtesy of the Fordham University website)

Launched in 2020, the Serving the City Internship program connects Fordham students with New York organizations and provides students with a network of professional contacts and ultimately with paid internships. The stipends students receive within each paid internship are made possible through generous donations from Fordham supporters and alumni.

First co-founded by Maura Mast, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, and Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, the program promotes paid student involvement with nonprofit organizations and focuses on inspiring Fordham students to embrace professions in culture and the arts.

Although the program was originally named the Cultural Engagement Program, it was recently renamed the Serving the City Internship program.

Desirae Colvin, director of Administration, Communication and Strategic Initiatives, is the current program leader.

“While the former program name ‘Cultural Engagement’ was reflective of the program’s beginnings — our earliest partnerships were with the New-York Historical Society and the Museum of Arts and Design — the program quickly expanded to include organizations involved in education, the environment, and social and health services,” said Colvin.

“While arts-based organizations remain an important and prolific part of the program, the new name ‘Serving the City’ is more inclusive of the wide variety of our partnerships and internship opportunities.”
Aside from a name change, the program itself remains relatively the same. Colvin said that the Serving the City Internship program is always working to create new partnerships, resulting in more possibilities for paid student internships.

Colvin also highlighted the program’s new LinkedIn page as an important step in its’ expansion. “We are excited to be sharing more as we continue, especially via our brand-new Serving the City LinkedIn page,” said Colvin.
The page provides a space for interested Fordham students to view and apply to upcoming internships. Some internships still available for the spring semester include the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, as a Public Relations Intern, and The Bronx is Reading, as a Literary Digital Marketing Intern.

The program is currently partnering with 37 organizations to “…provide paid internships — exclusively for Fordham College at Rose Hill and Fordham College at Lincoln Center students — to undertake internships at nonprofit organizations aligned with Fordham’s mission,” said Colvin. Organizations in current partnership with the Serving the City Internship program include the City Schools Sports Association and the Brooklyn Museum. So far, more than 60 Fordham students have participated in the program, and even more are expected to get involved in the coming year.

Colvin mentioned continued expansion as a part of the Serving the City Internship program’s future.
“We have been bringing on new partners constantly and expect to do the same this year. We’re excited to announce new partners and internships on our LinkedIn page and in the weekly Dean’s newsletters that go out to […] students every Wednesday.”