Daily News

Bay Path Receives Grant to Help Fund Student Internship Experiences

LONGMEADOW — Bay Path University has been awarded $5,000 in grant funding support from the Charles H. Hall Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., trustee, for its project, “Impacting the Community: Fostering Social Justice Through Student Internships.” The foundation’s support will benefit Bay Path undergraduate students who are performing internships at nonprofits in Hampden County, including Square One, the Jewish Community Center, and Girls Inc., all of whom service at-risk children and youth.

Bay Path requires its traditional undergraduate students to complete a three- or six-credit internship, research project, or field-work experience, depending on their major, to ensure they have the opportunities to develop the skills and competencies that will help them launch their careers. This funding, which will cover four internships, will help relieve the financial worry that unpaid internships can bring for students. Many Bay Path students hold part-time jobs to make ends meet, and adding an unpaid internship to the mix can be stressful.

“Supporting our students as they perform their required internships not only develops leaders and underlines the importance of giving back to our local community, but also enables students to experience a sense of self-discovery and often personal transformation as they undertake their projects and interface with the nonprofit community,” said Kathryn Wiezbicki-Stevens, Bay Path’s chair of Undergraduate Psychology and director of Pre-OT Studies and Human and Health Science Programs, who oversees the project.

The Charles H. Hall Foundation was established in 2007 to support and promote educational, health and human services, religious, arts, and cultural programming for underserved populations.