Summer Internships for Students

Introduction

The Lilly Project for the Theological, Spiritual and Ethical Exploration of Vocation is a university-wide program dedicated to helping students to engage the larger questions of meaning and purpose, and to discern their vocation -- their calling in life. Funded by a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., the Lilly Project is embedded in the intellectual and residential life of the university, offering opportunities for members of the community to consider issues of vocation, service, meaning-making and life choices through a variety of academic and co-curricular programs.

Vocation, as we are using it in the context of the Lilly Project at Willamette, does not mean strictly religious vocations; neither does it refer to building a skilled workforce. Rather, it means the way in which we live out our passions in the world, the way in which our values, our commitments and our beliefs are embodied in our choices about work, about family, about our political and social lives. Exploring vocation means talking about engaging the larger questions of meaning and purpose, questions that, we hope, inform students’ decisions and shape their lives, both during their time here and after graduation. We are talking about vocation in the context of a liberal arts education, one that opens up choices and options, one that teaches students how to think critically, inquire freely, lead wisely, serve generously and live with integrity.

Internships

For students wishing to further explore a vocation working in religious institutions (churches, synagogues, mosques, or faith-identified agencies), the Lilly Project at Willamette provides the opportunity to pursue a summer internship. Five stipends of $3000, plus limited travel and housing, will be available for graduate or undergraduate students each summer. Listing and details of each internship site are available through the links below or in the vocation section of the library in the Office of the Chaplains.

Each year the Lilly Project offers internship sites that will provide new experiences and excellent supervision. Students will first make application to the Lilly Project at Willamette to seek an internship. Qualified students will then interview with supervisors for the site they would like to serve. The final selection of students for particular internships will be made by the internship site supervisors.

2007-08 Timeline

2008 Internship Sites (links to each site's proposal)

All Saints' Episcopal Church - Chicago, Illinois

Beaking Cycles, Catholic Community Services - Salem, Oregon

The Church of St. Luke in the Fields - New York, New York

Family Bridge - Hillsboro, Oregon Site description being revised for 2008

First Congregational Church - Salem, Oregon

First Presbyterian Church - Salem, Oregon

First United Methodist Church - Corvallis, Oregon

First United Methodist Church - Salem, Oregon (revised 2/19/08)

Morningside United Methodist Church - Salem, Oregon

St. Vincent de Paul Society/Marion County Home for Good - Salem, Oregon

Salem Hospital Pastoral Care Department - Salem, Oregon (revised 2/18/08)

Student Application Process

The application, addressed to the Lilly Advisory Board (c/o The Office of the Chaplains) should include:

1. Application form*
2. A letter(s) of application, specific to the site(s) to which you are applying, of no more than four pages addressing the following questions:
   ~Describe your spiritual journey – what leads you to explore your vocation at this site?
   ~What are your personal goals for this internship?
   ~What gifts, skills and experience would you bring to this site as an intern?
   ~What range of activity/knowledge are you hoping for in this particular internship?
3. Two references - one should be a faculty member who can speak to your strengths; the other should be someone who has supervised you in a work or volunteer capacity. Please use the Lilly Internship Recommendation Form.*
4. A resume (Resume assistance is available from Career Services.)

*The forms necessary for this application require Microsoft Word. If you do not have access to Microsoft Word, please contact the Office of the Chaplains to have a copy of the forms mailed to you.