BSC announces 2019 class of Hess Fellows

For Immediate Release
May. 28, 2019

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Students from Birmingham-Southern College will spend their summer interning with nonprofit agencies in Washington, D.C.; Charleston, W.Va.; Atlanta; Tennessee; Pennsylvania; and across Alabama – including Bread for the World and the National Alliance to End Homelessness – under the college’s Hess Fellowships.

Thirteen students were chosen for the 2019 class of fellows by BSC’s Hess Center for Leadership and Service, part of the Krulak Institute for Leadership, Experiential Learning, and Civic Engagement. The program places students at top nonprofit groups, where they spend at least eight weeks of the summer serving as full-time staff members, building agency capacity, engaging in advocacy, and assisting the organization in addressing community needs.

The program, now in its 13th year, is also partnering with the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP) to provide five internships focused on poverty.

Advocacy interns extend organizational capacity by conducting research, facilitating coalitions among constituencies, or organizing lobbying or other advocacy efforts. Poverty interns examine the multiple dimensions of poverty and support projects and programs that strengthen impoverished communities.

The Hess Fellowships fall under BSC’s innovative rise³program, which offers opportunities to learn through research, internships, service-learning experiences, and self-reflection. Earlier this month, the fellows attended a pre-internship workshop focused on advocacy and critical reflection. Throughout the summer, they will complete critical analyses of their internships in writing and through visits with a Hess Center staff member. When the interns return to the Hilltop for the 2019-20 academic year, they will reflect on how their experiences can inform their work on campus and in their future professions. The poverty fellows will also attend pre- and post-conference sessions with poverty interns from the 22 institutions in the SHECP.

The 2019 Hess Fellows are:

Rachael Brooks, a first-year biology and psychology major from Vestavia Hills, Ala., who will serve through the Shepard Higher Education Consortium on Poverty at Covenant House in Charleston, W.Va.
Kallie Brown, a sophomore political science major from Spanish Fort, Ala., who will work with the National Alliance to End Homelessness in Washington, D.C.
Salma Crank, a junior political science major from Brentwood, Tenn., who will work with Bread for the World in Washington, D.C.
Darona Dancy, a sophomore elementary and collaborative education major from Bessemer, Ala., who will work with YWCA of Central Alabama in Birmingham.
Julia Degnan, a junior musical theatre major from Hendersonville, Tenn., who will work with Collat Jewish Family Services in Birmingham.
Sophie Herrington, a sophomore from Mobile, who will serve through the Shepard Higher Education Consortium on Poverty at N Street Village in Washington, D.C.
Sara Jones, a junior political science major from Ocean Springs, Miss., who will work with HICA (Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama) in Birmingham.
Eliza Love, a junior religion major from Mount Washington, Ky., who will work with the General Board of Church and Society in Washington, D.C.
Lauren Mims, a sophomore chemistry major from Chelsea, Ala., who will serve through the Shepard Higher Education Consortium on Poverty at Bradley Fee Clinic in Roanoke, Va.
Ben Pollock, a junior physics major from Riverside, Ill., who will serve through the Shepard Higher Education Consortium on Poverty at the City of Shamokin in Shamokin, Pa.
Sutton Smith, a sophomore from Auburn, Ala., who will work with Bread for the World in Washington, D.C.
Parker Sturm, a junior sociology and religion major from Pelham, Ala., who will serve through the Shepard Higher Education Consortium on Poverty at REMERGE in Atlanta.
Leah Thomas, a junior sociology major from Jackson, Miss., who will work with Alabama Possible in Birmingham.

The dedication and generosity of the following donors makes the Hess Fellows program possible: Ronne and Donald Hess, Dr. Ralph and Susan Dominick Doughton ’74, the Independent Presbyterian Church Foundation, Dr. Gayle and Pat Pelham, Dan Young and family, and other private donors.