Mariana Simpson, a Rutgers-New Brunswick sophomore, applied for a Scarlet Service internship because she believes that understanding all kinds of people will help her become a better health care provider in the future.
As one of 153 Rutgers students chosen for paid internship experiences at government offices and public service-oriented nonprofit organizations this summer, the double major, enrolled in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, will serve as a community engagement intern with Public Health Solutions in New York City.
"I hope to learn, to better understand anyone who doesn't look like me or come from the same background," Simpson said at the kickoff event Monday for the third year of Scarlet Service. "I think that's key to not just being a better health care provider, but to being a better person. I want to be well-rounded."
Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway created the Rutgers Scarlet Service program so students gain hands-on experience addressing national issues while developing a better understanding of themselves and building relationships with others. The program is supported by the Rutgers University Foundation and has grown to provide opportunities to 153 students in 2024, with 129 working in and around the metropolitan area, and another 24 interning in Washington, D.C.
"Whether you are headed to a nonprofit in your home county or starting an internship on Capitol Hill, each of you is part of the growth of Rutgers Scarlet Service - this idea of doing good for others as a way of life, starting with an internship and hopefully becoming something much more," said Holloway, whose 2021 New York Times op-ed gave rise to the initiative.
"These internships can help us heal divisions in a broken society, help each of you to better understand people who are different from you, deepen your sense of empathy, and help you to model for your friends and family the values of service and selflessness," Holloway told the interns gathered at the College Avenue Student Center in New Brunswick.
Alumnus Dave Cole (RC '07), New Jersey's chief innovation officer who served as president of the Rutgers College Governing Association as an undergraduate, encouraged students in a keynote address to develop and refine their perspective on making change, to be open to change as much as they seek to create it, and to build a record of competence in getting things done.
"Figure out what you can do, maybe right in front of you, that nobody else is doing," said Cole. "Get it done, learn from it, and then you'll have a lesson going forward. Eventually you will find reason to look back and draw from these experiences and make them relevant again."
