The University of Memphis has a unique opportunity available for its veteran students.
The Veterans Reconnect internship program is taking applications through April 4 to fill positions for its summer internships
The U of M received a grant from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to accelerate the success of currently enrolled veteran students.
“In the wake of the passage of the post-9/11 GI Bill, Tennessee has experienced a significant increase in the number of veterans enrolled in higher education,” Tola Jenkins, academic internship coordinator at the U of M, said. “The primary goal of the Veteran Reconnect Grant Competition is to accelerate the success of veterans already enrolled on Tennessee campuses and create favorable conditions to recruit new student veterans.”
The program is open to undergraduate or graduate veteran students who are actively enrolled at the U of M and are at least a sophomore with a 2.5 GPA. They must have one or more regular semesters remaining before graduation Stipends of $10 per hour, or $1,500 total, will be distributed to veteran interns every other week during a semester.
Students selected into the internship program will be provided with the opportunity to work with campus or community partners. They are paired with the partners based on major, experience, career goals and availability of approved internship sites.
“The internship opportunities available for veteran students through the program varies based on each veteran student applicant,” Jenkins said.
“We utilize an internship matching process to meet the needs of our veteran students. We employ the application and interview process to know each of the applicants individually.”
Some of the community partners have collaborated with the U of M to provide quality internship placements, he said. These places include the City of Memphis, MIFA and Memphis Shelby County Office of Sustainability.
“We have had a great set of applicants whose diverse experiences in the military, academic pursuits, extracurricular interests and career goals have been used in making recommendations for an internship site,” Jenkins said.
Veteran graduate student Mark Woodall took advantage of the program and is currently working to help other veterans in the internship program.
“It really is fulfilling to be able to help fellow veterans,” Woodall said. “Most of them don’t know about this program, so when I am able to help them get involved, it gives me a sense of self satisfaction. We have hundreds of veterans on campus, and very few know about this program.”
Having worked for 22 years before coming back to school in 2014, Woodall understands how this program is helpful for veterans.
“It was a jarring experience to be reintegrated into an academic environment,” Woodall said. “There was a learning curve. It was a rough semester coming back in. It helps them transition from a military environment to a different career field like a civilian path.”
