Action Team

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Action Team interns design and conduct their own civic engagement projects, demonstrating initiative and collaboration.  They meet regularly to share successes and to help each other address challenges.

Action Team interns have developed –

  • Professional skills. “I realized that I’ve been able to connect my internship experiences to my profession. I feel a lot more confident.”
  • “Soft skills” and self-knowledge. “The biggest skill is taking the initiative. In high school, you’re told what to do, but in this Team, you can do whatever you want to do in your project. That’s the greatest (and the hardest) thing about it.”

Since launching in spring 2018, Action Team interns’ many accomplishments include

  • Creating three new student-oriented stress-management projects, two of which were designed on the basis of a survey answered by over 500 students
  • Creating and conducting the Team’s Antiracism project
  • Forming BridgeCortland, which organizes civil and informed discussions that help college students bridge their opposition on controversial topics.
  • Conducting events such as debates, panel discussions, town halls, and public deliberations on current issues. So far, more than 500 people have participated in those events.
  • Composing articles for the Cortland Standard, the Family and Child Counseling Services of Cortland County’s newsletter, and the Institute for Civic Engagement’s newsletter
  • Designing and conducting resource-raising projects for community organizations such as the YMCA and Catholic Charities
  • Designing and conducting projects that have improved the operation of the SUNY Cortland Cupboard, and that have increased awareness of the food pantry so that more food-insecure students use it.

Action Team internships are open to all SUNY Cortland students, beginning with those in their second semester.  Students can opt for 1, 2, or 3 credit hours.  Many students have served on the Team for multiple semesters.

The spring 2021 Action Team interns described their experiences in their April 15 Sandwich Seminar.  The recording is at Sandwich Seminar: I Learned by Doing - The Action Team Interns    

For more information, email john.suarez@cortland.edu.  To apply, email your cover letter and resume to that same email address.