Nine CSB and SJU students named Jackson Fellows

07/02/2009

Educational experience, competitive wages and flexible hours are three of the qualities that college students look for in the ideal summer job. However, nine students from the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, and Saint John’s University, Collegeville, have loftier ambitions.           

These students are now completing summer service work through the Marie and Robert Jackson Fellows program. The fellows program creates summer work opportunities where the goals include building leadership skills, enhancing social development and improving community life.

The Jackson Fellows program was established in 2008 through an anonymous donation made to the College of Saint Benedict. In its inaugural year, nine students from CSB and SJU participated in the program. Students who are named Jackson Fellows work at civic affairs organizations for the summer and also attend group seminars focused on civic engagement and leadership. The goal of the program is to improve community life by engaging in both political and community service activities.

The program is co-directed by Matt Lindstrom, associate professor of political science at CSB and SJU and director of the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement, and Marah Jacobson-Schulte, service-learning coordinator at CSB and SJU.              

CSB Jackson Fellows:

• Christen Beckstrand, a German and music double major, is working for the St. Cloud Symphony in St. Cloud, Minn. Beckstrand will be developing a curriculum template for the fourth-grade elementary school outreach program, executing an educational music program for children ages 7-12 at the St. Cloud Public Library and writing a grant to secure funding for the upcoming fiscal year. 

• Emily Bina, a communication major, is working for the Midday show with SJU graduate Gary Eichten on Minnesota Public Radio News in St. Paul, Minn. Bina is responsible for updating the Web site, helping to produce the show each day by writing scripts and editing audio.

• Jacqueline Duchschere, a political science major, is working for the Office on the Economic Status of Women for the Minnesota Legislature. Duchschere is working on an archiving project and on a pay equity project.

• Catherine Hansen, a biology major, is working for The Center for Cross-Cultural Health in Minneapolis. Her primary focus is engaging the Somali community, which includes a grass-roots initiative around anatomy education for women, and an interview study examining the patient-health care professional interaction.

• Laura Huiras, a political science major, is working for Minnesota 2020 in St. Paul. Huiras’ duties are focused on keeping up with educational news, identifying problems and recommending tangible solutions to focus on the success of Minnesota’s educational policy.

• Yesenia Murillo, a sociology major, is working for Anna Marie’s Alliance in St. Cloud. At the shelter she works with the women's advocates and criminal justice advocates. Additionally, she is one of the committee members working on a civic engagement project called "CONNECT," also known as healthy Relationship Community.

• Ashley Ver Burg, a biochemistry and environmental studies double major, is working for 1000 Friends of Minnesota in Brainerd, Minn. She is working in the Brainerd Lakes Area on projects pertaining to conservation design development, natural resource protection and citizen involvement in land-use processes.

SJU Jackson Fellows:

• Michael Johnson, a political science major, is working for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services in St. Paul. His job as an intake screener, court courier and researcher requires him to deal with cases in family, housing and benefits law while supplying legal services to the poorest in the community.

• Brian Long, a communication and English double major, is working for PrideAlive through the Minnesota AIDS Project in Minneapolis. PrideAlive is an outreach program that works to educate young gay men about HIV prevention the risks of HIV and STDs, plan special events for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and provide free HIV testing.

The program is open to students of all majors and includes a highly competitive application and selection process. The summer work sites vary by degree of leadership and interest from each Jackson Fellow. The diversity of the worksites enhances the learning experience.