The Catamount Community Schools Collaborative (CCSC), through funding from a Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships Seed Grant, has established an interdisciplinary internship program. The CCSC Internship Program acts as a central, coordinating hub for UVM students (undergraduate through doctoral) from various programs and departments to gain access to partnership opportunities with Vermont Community Schools.
As partnering Community Schools identify student/family needs, community engagement projects, or initiatives to be implemented, the CCSC faculty work to identify high-caliber UVM students in programs or disciplines across the UVM campus whose experiences and interests align with those school-identified needs. Those students are then placed (for a semester or academic year) with the partnering Community School to work collaboratively with Community School Coordinators and Administrators to work directly with students, families, or community members; to implement new programs or initiatives; or to conduct community-based, participatory research in support of school, district, or supervisory union goals.
More information on the UVM CCSC Student Interns, their school placements, and content/expertise areas can be found below:
The Catamount Community Schools Collaborative, in partnership with the UVM Office of Engagement and the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships, supported a summer residential internship program that brought UVM undergraduates to Bethel, VT, for the summer to work with White River Valley Supervisory Union and its community partners on various community-based collaborative projects and work-based learning opportunities.
Watch this video to learn more and hear about students’ experiences firsthand!
| UNDERGRADUATE | MASTERS | DOCTORAL |
| Ada Gardner Critical Place-Based Education Major / Food Systems + Community Development minors Internship with White River Valley Middle School (Bethel, Vermont) [Spring 2025 – present] | Kat Gainer Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate student CCSC Structural Support [Fall 2025, Spring 2026] | Barbara Collette Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health and Inclusive Education (SHIE) doctoral student Graduate Assistantship with the Catamount Community Schools Collaborative (Burlington, VT) [Fall 2024- present] |
| Nadiya Becoats Food Systems Major / Childhood Studies Minor Internship with Newport Town School (Newport Town, VT) [Spring 2025 – present] | Cynthia Herbert Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health and Inclusive Education (SHIE) doctoral student Graduate Assistantship with the Catamount Community Schools Collaborative (Burlington, VT) [Fall 2024 – present] | |
| Maya Caplan Psychological Sciences Major / Law & Society Minor Internship with Burlington School District (Burlington, VT) [Fall 2025 – present] | Parker Goss Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health and Inclusive Education (SHIE) doctoral student Graduate Assistantship with the Catamount Community Schools Collaborative (Burlington, VT) [Spring 2026] | |
| Cora Benardot Biology Major / Cell and Developmental Biology Concentration / Double Minor in Health and Society & Nutrition and Food Science Internship with Essex North Supervisory Union (Canaan, Vermont) [Spring 2026] |