Category: Civic Scholars

Hello!! My name is Graci Melms-Heitkemper and I am a sophomore at UWGB. My
major is Environmental Science with a minor in studio art and I have been very lucky to intern at the Baird Creek Preservation Foundation with the executive director: Holly Baseman! My role at the foundation is to be the communications intern. In other words I am tasked with roles such as compiling historical documents in an accurate timeline and assisting my coworkers with the recording of accurate trail markers.

A task I have enjoyed very much in my internship is the gathering of all the physical
historical documents that the foundation has accumulated over the past 20 years, and organizing it into a timeline of events. While I did this, I learned all about this foundation’s fight to preserve the parkway and how hard they continue to work to maintain and protect this land. My understanding and respect for the city has grown as well, as I have learned about the parks growth, I had to learn about the cities. A key component of the work that is done at the foundation is just informing people of their existence and the importance of community involvement in the maintenance of public spaces. It has been such an awesome experience to be a part of this
small team that makes so much difference in the community!!

Hi, my name is Annelise Frank and I am a Sophomore at UWGB! I am currently studying Design Arts and plan to go into Graphic Design after graduating in 2024. During this semester, I have had the wonderful opportunity to work as an intern at Green Bay City Hall under Laura Schley who is the Public Arts Coordinator for Green Bay. Over the past six weeks, I have been able to do many cool things such as
designing merchandise for the Green Bay Swag Shop on Redbubble! I have also attended meetings to see the inner workings of a city government system, have begun collecting data for a UWGB Public Art database/map, and many other things as well!

Out of all the things I have been a part of due to this internship, I would have to say that my favorite part is assisting in design for the Outreach Team! I love being able to make designs and get feedback from those who work at City Hall. It’s fun to see the process of how things get done in City Hall and being a part of it is even more exciting!

Hi! My name is Ava DeGroot. I am a sophomore here at UWGB, planning to graduate in the spring of 2023. I am a Psychology major with an emphasis in mental health, and planning on adding a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies. This semester I am an intern at the Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Green Bay, under the supervision of Johanna Wicklund, the COO of the organization. Currently, my two major projects are working on teen outreach and recruitment, which involves analyzing data and coming up with ways to bring the teen voice back into the club. The second project is working on volunteer outreach, by organizing interviews, compiling data, and aiding the reinstatement of our volunteer applications. I work
closely with the leadership team to assist with recruitment tactics and the creation of messaging and marketing materials, as well as provide input for programs and activities. I am beyond excited for the rest of the semester with this organization!

I have enjoyed both of my projects so far with the company, however, I am most excited about working with the leadership team to improve the volunteer process. I have always been involved in my community, from volunteering at a young age, through high school organizations– in which I was president of our service club: Key Club– all the way to college and hopefully beyond. Due to my passion for volunteering, I was intrigued to hear of the opportunity to work on the “other
side”. Instead of reaching out to organizations to volunteer, I am part of the organization that people reach out to. It is a change of perspective, but it has allowed me to challenge my thinking and give advice on what volunteers look for in an organization. I am looking forward to our progress with volunteer outreach, and can not wait for it to be published!

Hello! My name is Isabel Gosse, I’m a sophomore at UWGB majoring in Elementary Education. This semester I am an intern for the Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce, working with their Talent and Ed team! I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with all of the different sectors within the Talent and Ed department, from their Youth Apprenticeship Program, to Teen Leadership GB, to the Golden Apple Awards! Although I’m an education major, I wanted to use this Civic Scholar internship as an opportunity to learn about the Green Bay community on an event planning and leadership level; along with the fact that I love the chamber’s mission of welcoming people to the city and keeping things interesting that people stay here! I do a whole bunch of different tasks since I work with many different people on the team. Some of those activities have included making different spreadsheets, PowerPoints, finding venues for events, reaching out to companies to make merchandise, and so much more!

Even though it’s only been a few weeks, I’ve been able to learn so much about the Chamber’s role in the Green Bay community! I’ve been able to learn a lot about the different events that happen for community members, and been able to help plan and prepare for those events. Many of their events like Future 15 and the Golden Apple Awards recognize community members for everything they do and celebrates their achievements, while Find Your Inspiration and Leadership Green Bay help the students and community members involved learn more about their futures as they expand their skillsets. While at one of the Leadership Green Bay events, one of the speakers was talking about how grateful she was to live in a big name city that has a small town feel due to how close the community is. I couldn’t agree more! Being from Sheboygan(about a population of 50,000 people) I was used to the smaller town feel, but the transition to living in Green Bay has been seamless due to that small town feel that Green Bay has. I can’t wait to keep working on these events along with everything else that the Talent and Ed team does throughout the year!

We are so proud to showcase our Scholars and their service internships this semester. We will be featuring posts that they have written to introduce themselves and their projects. Keep in mind, our Civic Scholars are only in their second year of college! It truly is feat for them to list an internship on their resumes as sophomores. Stay tuned!

 

Our Center welcomed the 2021-2022 cohort of Civic Scholars this fall 2021. We have a total of 12 students with majors from Chemistry to Political Science and event Elementary Education. So far this semester we have been visiting various organizations in the community and learning about the City of Green Bay. It has been a journey for our Scholars. You can read more about our current cohort and some alumni in our monthly newsletters. To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit www.uwgb.edu/cce.

Recently, our Scholars had the chance to visit Titletown Tech! The Scholars met an alumnae, Cordero Barkley, and were able to hear about his journey to success. In addition to hearing from Cordero, our Scholars were guided on a tour of the building. Our program is all about community building and seeing how it all connects. Hearing the mission of finding local talent and businesses that impact the community brings the Titletown Tech mission and our program together. There are only a few more visits left of the 2021-2022 academic year. Next spring, our Scholars will be starting their service internships. We are thankful for all of those who have supported our Scholars on their educational journey.