A new LISC internship program is helping close opportunity gaps for HBCU students while introducing them to important aspects of the community development field. “This program is part of our work to address systemic racial barriers that keep young people from gaining the experience and connections they need to compete for good jobs,” said LISC President Denise Scott.
NEW YORK (Nov. 21, 2022)—The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has launched a new internship program for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to help bridge the opportunity gap for students of color—offering community development mentorship and experience that gives young people a leg up when entering the workforce.
Over the next two years, LISC’s National HBCU Talent Development program is placing 40 students in part-time intern positions with local LISC offices and other community development financial institutions (CDFIs). Interns will support a range of initiatives, from marketing to finance to community engagement, while also participating in leadership and national networking events.
The program is funded by the Citi Foundation and is specifically designed to address national disparities in internships, with White students significantly more likely to gain paid versus unpaid positions than Black students. The LISC internship pays $25/hour up to $15,000 for the academic year.
“Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not,” noted Denise Scott, LISC president, who held a virtual “fireside” chat with the initial cohort of interns last month. “This program is part of our work to address systemic racial barriers that keep young people from gaining the experience and connections they need to compete for good jobs,” she explained. “Through this program, students can earn a strong wage, gain hands-on experience, work with mentors and build a network of contacts and supporters—all while supporting valuable community investment activity,” she continued. “It’s a win for all of us.”
At the outset, eight HBCUs are participating in the program, with young people from varied backgrounds and experiences applying to participate. Eryn Glover, for instance, is a sophomore marketing major at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) in Charlotte, N.C., and one of LISC’s first HBCU interns. She is working with the staff at LISC Charlotte to support fundraising, social media and community outreach, helping extend LISC’s engagement with the region’s philanthropic leaders and supporting valuable collaborations with local partners.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to do nonprofit work and put my skills to work to help people,” said Glover, a South Jersey native who has spent recent summer breaks working at community-based organizations. She chose JCSU for her education because she wanted to attend an HBCU, benefit from a smaller university, and be close to family that had moved to North Carolina.
“I feel like I have opportunities here, like the LISC internship, that offer the chance to really get to know professors and mentors, and to also make a difference. I want to work in marketing within the nonprofit space, so this internship really aligns with that,” she said.
In Washington, D.C., Howard University senior Marsi Hailu is interning with the LISC policy team. Her early projects include mapping gaps in broadband access—especially in rural communities—and researching the disproportionate impact of climate events on low-income communities of color.
“I already knew that there is a lack of intergenerational wealth in Black and Brown communities because of historical discrimination,” she said of her initial research. “But I guess I didn’t realize how much that intersects with geography. It’s a lot easier to recover from a disaster if you aren’t already living paycheck to paycheck,” she added.
Hailu, a finance major from Northern Virginia, hopes to pursue a graduate degree in urban development after graduation, with a concentration in affordable housing. She said the LISC internship offers the opportunity to try her hand at different aspects of community development, going well beyond what she might learn in her finance classes.
“In a lot of places, housing is at the root of inequality,” she said, explaining her passion for the work. “As someone who grew up in the area, I see the disparities facing low-income folks. I want to do something about that,” she said.
In addition to Howard and JCSU, initial HBCU supporters of the program include Edward Waters University (Florida), LeMoyne-Owen College (Tennessee), Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Morehouse College (Georgia), Simmons College (Kentucky), and Virginia State University (Virginia). Additional HBCUs will be referring students in the months to come.
LISC’s Scott said the universities are eager to help students identify new opportunities for advancement—particularly given that many of the schools already have existing relationships with LISC, collaborating on local efforts related housing and economic development.
“Here at Johnson C. Smith University, we strive to graduate global citizens who develop a compelling sense of social and civic responsibility for leadership and service,” said JCSU President Clarence D. Armbrister, whose wife—a retired Wells Fargo executive—serves as a member of the LISC Charlotte local advisory council. “LISC’s internship program is an excellent way for JCSU students to put this possibility into perspective outside of the classroom. Just as we strive to develop a better world by graduating the best and brightest, LISC does the same by investing in its community to make economic equality a reality,” he said.
The National HBCU Talent Development program draws on the experience of LISC’s nearly three decades of work with AmeriCorps, including the Economic Mobility Corps (EMC) launched in 2020. Through EMC, LISC places national service members in positions that help build the capacity of CDFIs.
“We have long seen the value in connecting people to community development positions in places that they know and care about,” Scott said. “Our HBCU internship program takes that a step further, focusing on gaps in opportunity for students of color, injecting equity into CDFI recruitment efforts and building a community development workforce that reflects the people and places it serves.”
Related Coverage
About LISC
LISC is one of the country’s largest community development organizations, helping forge vibrant, resilient communities across America. We work with residents and partners to close systemic gaps in health, wealth and opportunity and advance racial equity so that people and places can thrive. Since our founding in 1979, LISC has invested $26.7 billion to create more than 463,000 affordable homes and apartments, develop 78.5 million square feet of retail, community and educational space and help tens of thousands of people find employment and improve their finances. For more, visit www.lisc.org