SGA's Responsible Citizenship Internship Award (RCIA), CDC Summer Experience Fund
The Responsible Citizenship Internship Awards (RCIA) through SGA were developed to provide Skidmore students with the opportunity to participate in unpaid internships, volunteer or community service projects to gain practical knowledge in their field of study and to further Skidmore College’s mission to encourage responsible citizenship. Students are not required to apply for academic credit.
All students (including seniors) are eligible to apply for RCIA irrespective of financial need. RCIA is open to all students regardless of academic major, career interest or class year.
ELIGIBILITY
* Be enrolled at Skidmore full-time. Part- time seniors completing course requirements during spring semester are eligible to apply for awards.
* Be in good academic standing (defined as a 2.0 total GPA or better).
* Not be on academic probation at the time of applying for an award.
* Any and all potential internships must be deemed educational by the college and must follow students’ academic interests and coursework as well as being deemed representative of responsible citizenship.
International students should check with Student Academic Services before applying to identify any requirements they need to meet to qualify for this award.
These awards cannot be combined with any other award, scholarship, stipend or grant on campus.
Students must complete a minimum of a 250-hours during their summer experience.
The company or organization sponsoring the internship must be a legal entity.
The internship sponsor/supervisor may not be a Skidmore student.
APPLICATION PROCESS
All students will be notified of selections no later than the end of April.
Below are the requirements to apply:
- Complete application form (attached)
- Submit resume
- Submit essay form (attached)
- Students must apply to summer experiences prior to applying for RCIA, but the experience does not need to be secured.
Internships Abroad:
Student international travel will be evaluated by the sponsoring department (Career Development Center and/or Academic Affairs) in consultation with Skidmore’s risk management resources. The Department of State travel advisory levels for the proposed destination are an important factor in this review. Level 4 destinations are not permitted under any circumstances. Level 3 destinations are generally not permitted, but are occasionally approved through a petition process demonstrating a compelling reason for the exception. While Level 1 and Level 2 destinations are generally permitted, there are often regional destinations at an elevated level within the country that may preclude travel. Please contact Penny Loretto in the Career Development Center for approved destinations at any level.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Students will be evaluated by:
1. Quality of Essay (both content and writing) (approximately 500 words)
2. Substance of Internship
3. Quality of Resume
4. Academic Standing
6. Overall value of the internship experience may be considered when evaluating applicants
All applications must propose internships/projects that demonstrate a clear and substantial connection to responsible citizenship. Stronger applications will propose internship activities that demonstrate clear links to their Skidmore education (previous courses, major or minor, plans for a senior thesis, etc.).
An independent selection committee will determine the recipients of this year’s RCIA.
Listed below are the steps required to apply for funding:
Required documents to apply:
1. Application Form (download, complete, and upload attachment as a Cover Letter under Documents on Handshake)
2. Resume
3. Essay Form (posted on each listing)
Any application changes (additional internships applied to after submitting original application) regarding internship placements must be submitted and approved by the Career Development Center (along with an essay) prior to the March 23 at noon deadline.
Application Instructions:
All documents must be saved under Documents on Handshake (top panel under students name) AND to each award applying to.
1. Download, complete, and upload the attached Application Form to Documents, labeling application form as "cover letter".
3. Upload resume under Documents
4. Upload essay under Documents
5. Hit Apply button (top right)
6. Be sure to submit all required documents (application form, resume, and essay) to each award applying to.
Essay Requirement:
Please submit a 500-word essay completing the essay form attached to each listing. Please include the following information, please describe each internship in detail (may go over suggested 500 words):
1. A brief description of the position, organization and the organization’s mission statement?
2. How the experience relates to your academics and your career and personal goals and how you feel the experience will better prepare you for life after college? How has your major/minor or specific courses helped to prepare you for this experience?
3. What unique talents, knowledge, skills and previous experience you have that qualifies you for the internship, research, volunteer or community-service project?
4. What do you hope to learn from the summer experience?
5. Which factors attract you as an applicant to the opportunity you have chosen; and any personal information you feel is relevant when being considered for an award; including requirements for funding?
It is the students' responsibility that all documents are submitted on time, late or incomplete documents will not be considered for an award.
Award:
Each award will provide selected students with a stipend amount of $4,000 each for a minimum of 250 hours over the course of the summer.
Expectations of Award Recipients:
- At the completion of the internship students will be required to write one or more blogs on our SEF blog site that includes their class year, major/minor, home location, a full description of how the internship was secured, responsibilities, what was learned, and how the experience will benefit them in their future career; as well as, one or more photos, the organization’s mission statement and the student's responsibilities while at the site. This follow-up must aim to promote potential internship opportunities to fellow students.
- It is the student's responsibility that all supervisor evaluations are submitted by the deadline. Students are encouraged to check with their supervisor's to ensure that they have received an evaluation form from the Career Development Center and they have submitted it.
- Students are required to share their summer experience in a classroom or club presentation, SGA, or participate in one of the many programs offered by the Career Development Center throughout the year. Seniors are required to participate in our online blog including pictures, to the Career Development Center that may be used as promotional material for the Skidmore College or CDC website.
- Students are encouraged to participate in our annual Photo Contest! Prizes will be awarded. At least one photo is required of all students.
- Students are expected to send a thank you note to their internship site supervisor and their donor upon completion of the internship. Supervisors and colleagues make great networking opportunities for students to establish and add to their own professional network. You may want to ask them to connect on LinkedIn once you have completed your internship. All donor thank you notes should be emailed to internshipfunding@skidmore.edu.
Students will receive final payment of the award in mid-August upon completion of all of the above requirements.