The new Student Senate intern directors, Nicole Dailey and Torie McCollum, are working to make Student Senate's internship program more interactive.
Ohio University Student Senate is seeing changes to its internship program thanks to the work of two former interns.
The new Student Senate intern directors, Nicole Dailey and Torie McCollum, are working to make the program more interactive. The program is designed to help teach and train students who are interested in joining senate.
Dailey and McCollum both participated in the internship program during their freshman year and used that experience to implement new strategies to improve the program.
The pair said they appreciated how the program helped them get adjusted but felt it was lacking in certain areas.
“Before, it was pretty much the intern directors would talk at the interns, it wasn’t participatory,” Dailey said.
One of their main goals has been to make the program more interactive. During the weekly meetings the interns have with the directors, interns are given the chance to voice their ideas and come up with projects.
Projects the interns have been discussing are building picnic tables for College Green, organizing a formal in collaboration with other clubs and donating all proceeds to charity and putting on concerts, McCollum said.
Hayden Novosel, a freshman studying business, is excited about the opportunities the internship program has afforded him.
“The cool thing about senate is if you have an idea and want to do it, you can," said Novosel. "I had the idea of putting on a charity music festival in the spring. So, I gave some people a pitch, and they were all for it if I could put it together."
With projects the interns work on, Dailey and McCollum let the interns assume most of the responsibility since the point of the projects is to let the interns get more hands-on experience.
“We didn’t really have that when we were interns, and I think that’s important because it gives them a sense of purpose, because they are doing it themselves,” said Dailey.
Another problem Dailey and McCollum saw with the previous internship program was a disconnect, where interns had a hard time adjusting to senate.
“When I was an intern, I was shy and nervous, I didn’t know anyone, and I wasn’t comfortable going into the office, it was very intimidating," Dailey said.
Dailey and McCollum implemented a mentor-mentee program where interns are paired with Student Senate members who give them advice and help them make a friend in senate.
Alison Harper, an intern for this year and a freshman studying anthropology, is pleased with the inviting nature of the program.
“The people I have met in the senate have been so nice and helpful," Harper said. "They all support each other, especially if there are events going on, and they are all willing to answer questions."
Dailey and McCollum said they are confident in the changes they have made.
“I think we've had a better turnout meeting by meeting, a better response,” McCollum said.
Going forward, Dailey said she wants to continue to make the internship program participatory.
“When we were interns, you were just an intern, it didn’t really mean anything," Dailey said. "So, my goal coming into this was to make it mean something, it gives someone a reason to be on senate.”
McCollum agreed with Dailey, adding that she wants to allow interns to accomplish their goals.
“I want the interns to be able to say 'I accomplished something and have a firm grasp on senate,'” McCollum said.
Current intern Evan Vargo, a freshman studying international business, said the program is allowing him to get hands on practice and develop his leadership skills.
“The internship program creates new leaders and functions as a program for those who are interested in making a positive change on campus, ” said Vargo.
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