Student Internships

LVEJOStudent Internships

LVEJO recognizes the importance of student interns bring to grassroots community organizing.  When aligned with community leadership and rooted in the Jemez Principles of Democratic Organizing, student interns can help advance the achievement of environmental justice. LVEJO also recognizes that student internships, if not planned and coordinated, can be challenging and might also perpetuate cultures of colonial mentality, exploitation, and extraction that LVEJO fully resists.       

LVEJO has instituted the following policy guidelines to ensure that potential student interns are aware of LVEJO environmental justice principles and that their potential internship with LVEJO will mutually beneficial to their learning and to LVEJO.

LVEJO STUDENT INTERNSHIP – In Three EASY STEPS:

1. STEP ONE – Read the LVEJO Student Internship FIVE GUIDELINES

  1. LVEJO Mission, Vision, and Jemez Principles of Democratic Organizing: LVEJO supports potential student interns who are familiar with LVEJO mission, vision, and have read the Jemez Principles of Democratic Organizing, and in some cases your potential internship should be developed collaboratively with LVEJO.  LVEJO will not participate in projects where the potential internship is designed prior to consulting LVEJO.
  2. Internship Compensation:  Accepted Interns will receive limited stipends for their time. Potential student interns must account for the fact that environmental justice organizations such as LVEJO are under-resourced and have limited funds for paid internships. Please also consult your university or academic institution for possible list of scholarships and resources.
  3. Intellectual Property:  LVEJO supports community-based research projects that explicitly recognize that knowledge produced through a collaborative process belongs to LVEJO.  In academic publications and public disseminations of your potential research, LVEJO must also be given full credit as a research partner. A copy of your report and any publication must be shared with LVEJO.
  4. Student Intern Management: LVEJO supports the participation of students, particularly students of color, in community-based research projects.  Potential student interns should be prepared to discuss how their time at LVEJO and their entire internship will be managed.
  5. Memorandum of Agreement:  To ensure the integrity of a potential student intern, LVEJO supports the use of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the student intern to set partnership ground rules, alignment principles, and accountability mechanisms.  

2. STEP TWO – SELECT one of the two student internship opportunities that fit your interests and particular skill sets:

For Spring and Summer 2019, LVEJO has one Student Internship opportunity that supports LVEJO community organizing and policy work:

  1. Research in city budget and policy – You will potentially help research about Chicago Park District budget, budgeting policy process, and budget analysis. Student with past experience or study in finance, policy, statistics, urban studies and/ or any relevant social science courses is preferred. You will have the opportunity to work side-by-side with LVEJO Park Organizer and other community organizers and have the on-the-ground exposure of research and community impact.

The Internship will run for three months, approximately work 10 to 12 hours per week for 12 weeks. Hours could be flexible to accommodate your school and/ or work schedule and will be determined with your LVEJO supervisor. You will receive a compensation of $1,000 for this Internship. Deadline to apply for this Internship is Monday, April 15, 2019.

 

3. STEP THREE: Send in these three items:

  1.  your brief student resume;
  2. one writing sample; and
  3. your cover letter introducing your interest in one of the two student internship opportunities above.

      Please send them no later than Monday, April 15, 2019 to Mayra Galvez, email office@lvejo.org; phone (773) 762-6991 We will respond to you promptly.

Should you have any questions regarding our internship, please consider visiting our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. If you have further questions that are not covered in our FAQ               page, please call Mayra Galvez.