The Boehnen Summer Internship Grants are competitive grants that are awarded annually to Notre Dame Gender Studies undergraduate students who have secured unpaid summer internships that will help them analyze, understand, and gain valuable work experience in fields pertaining to Gender Studies. The internships may be at any organization or business, inside or outside the United States, insofar as the student makes a persuasive case for its relevance to his or her Gender Studies education. Our expectation is that the Boehnen Summer Internship Grants will help to offset living expenses for the students as they undertake their unpaid internship work; to that end, the student is expected to work full-time for the sponsoring agency, business, or organization (as they define full-time) and to explain to their supervisor that they have received funding that enables them to work full-time. All currently enrolled Gender Studies Majors and Minors are eligible to apply for these grants. The typical amount awarded is $2500. The typical length of the internship should be a minimum term of five (5) weeks with a maximum term of eight (8) weeks. However, the award amount and length of internship term are negotiable with respect to the specifics of each internship and these specifics should be described in detail in the “Statement of Purpose” of the grant application.
Connor Hayes ‘16
GLBT Political Advocacy at the Center for American Progress (DC)
Connor will work on the government affairs team, which will provide him the opportunity to contribute to policy briefings and lobbying efforts, as well as have exposure to the broader workings of an advocacy organization. He plans to apply to graduate school to pursue a degree in either public policy or law; additionally, his work this summer will inform his senior thesis on political activism.
Moira Horn ‘17
May Dugan Center (Cleveland, Ohio)
Moira will work with the Moms First and Community Health and Wellness programs; she plans to go to medical school for obstetrics.
Katie Lee ‘16
Colorado Juvenile Defender Center (Denver)
Katie will work as an administrative intern. Her duties will include offering administrative support to the public defenders currently employed at the office. One of her primary projects will be to construct a resource guide for families seeking legal counsel and other services from the Center. She will also attend all meetings conducted by the public defenders who run the center, giving her the opportunity to be engaged in the work that others at the Center are doing. Katie plans to apply to law school.
Kayla O’Connor ‘16
St. Joseph County Library (South Bend)
Kayla will work in the children’s department; her duties will include running their summer reading program, designing an assessment of it, and developing other programs. She plans to pursue a Master’s of Library Science and will write a senior thesis on gender issues in children’s lit.
Shannon Sheehan ‘16
The UnSlut Project (based online) a national campaign with the mission of “working to undo the dangerous sexual bullying and ‘Slut’ shaming in our schools, communities, media and culture”
Shannon will work as an assistant to the project’s founder; duties will include establishing a resource page and potentially a message board for site visitors; contacting sociologist that work in the fields of sexuality and gender to help spread the word about UnSlut’s mission; managing and expanding their social media. This work will inform her Gender Studies senior thesis, which in turn will help her applications to graduate programs in sociology, focusing on sexuality and gender.