![\"RELIEF](\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2023\/03\/RELIEF-Logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDr. Cessna Winslow oversees the Communication Studies Department\u2019s internship program. In 2021 she created RELIEF with contributions from private donors. The account grew substantially with an award from President James Hurley\u2019s Presidential Fund for Excellence. The goal is that eventually RELIEF funding will be available to students across the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A student who takes an unpaid internship often sacrifices a paid job elsewhere and incurs related out-of-pocket expenses. RELIEF funding opens doors and may give more students a jump on their career path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is exciting to know that students are relieved of some of the stress over the financial challenges that come with pursuing unpaid internships,\u201d said Dr. Winslow, who teaches courses in public relations and social engagement. \u201cReading their thank you notes after receiving RELIEF funds adds to the joy of launching this program.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELIEF recipients may receive up to $750 for a semester-long unpaid internship. Requirements include having a GPA of 2.5 or higher and financial need. After the internship ends, the students write a paper on how they used the money and what they learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELIEF recipient Reagan Marriott interned at a nonprofit agency that provides life skills and job training classes. Her internship required her to travel to events and take pictures for the agency\u2019s website and social media pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThankfully, I was equipped with a camera, but RELIEF funds allowed me to purchase some needed accessories,\u201d she said. \u201cTaking an unpaid internship was risky because it took me away from paid work. This money took away that fear and stress and allowed me to dedicate more time to the learning experience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to benefiting students, unpaid internships can boost local economies. Many small businesses and nonprofits cannot pay an intern because of tight operating budgets. But they still need help growing their organizations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRELIEF is an essential initiative in our vision of supporting more and more student internship opportunities,\u201d said Dr. Eric Morrow, Dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts. \u201cInternships offer our students critical networking opportunities and skills that help them explore their potential and lead to exciting vocational paths. We are so thankful to the donors who understand the value of internships and who support RELIEF.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s needed is a perpetual funding source. A fundraiser will be held in April to champion RELIEF and celebrate Tarleton\u2019s support of students in unpaid internships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
More information is available at https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/colfa\/relief-grant\/<\/strong>. Donations can be made at https:\/\/donate.tarleton.edu\/o\/tarleton-university\/i\/evergreen\/s\/college-of-liberal-fine-arts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Thanks to an innovative funding program, 35 Tarleton State University students in the College of Liberal and Fine Arts (COLFA) received financial assistance so they could take …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":48439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,423],"tags":[440,453],"class_list":["post-48431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-academics-research","tag-college-of-liberal-fine-arts","tag-performing-fine-arts"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"priddle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/priddle-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2023\/03\/RELIEF-Logo-3.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Academics & Research<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Academics & Research<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/a>","Performing & Fine Arts<\/a>"],"unlinked":["College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/span>","Performing & Fine Arts<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on March 24, 2023","modified":"Updated on March 24, 2023"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on March 24, 2023 10:16 am","modified":"Updated on March 24, 2023 3:05 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"Logo with a briefcase icon, text: \"Real Experiential Learning Internship Education Fund, RELIEF.\"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}