Fifteen students from six AIKCU member institutions have been awarded Frankfort Semester Internships and are spending their spring semester working and studying in Kentucky’s state capital.
Interns are employed approximately 30 hours per week in professional settings, gaining real world experience in legislative offices, state agencies, and carefully selected outside organizations closely tied to the political process.
Six students from Alice Lloyd College are participating in the program this spring, which is a record number of interns from any single institution in a semester. The Alice Lloyd College interns are:
- Ashley Daily, a Hiltons, Va. junior majoring in history and sociology, who is interning with the Kentucky Retail Federation.
- Kristyn Densmore, a sophomore pre-law and history major from Jeffersonville, KY. Densmore is interning with the state House of Representatives Republican Caucus.
- Thomas (Brent) Mills, a junior accounting major from Barbourville, Ky. is interning with the state Department of Revenue.
- Brett Preston, an Ivel, Ky. junior majoring in social science is interning with the House of Representatives Republican Caucus.
- Brittany Smith, a senior accounting and business major from Belfry, Ky. Smith is doing her internship in the Department of Revenue.
- Mark (Jarrod) Stamper, a Whitesburg, Ky. junior history major who is interning with the Council on Postsecondary Education.
The other students and their internship placements are:
- Michael Rothacker, a Campbellsville University junior from Milton, Tn. Rothacker is interning with Capital Link Consultants.
- Rachel Floyd, a senior political science major at Georgetown College from Somerset, Ky. is interning in the office of the Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet.
- Melissa Jenkins, also a political science major at Georgetown College, is interning at the Council on Postsecondary Education. She is a junior from Radcliff, Ky.
- Taylor Shaver, a Georgetown College senior from Shelbyville, Ky. Shaver is another political science major and is doing his internship in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
- Lindsey Wilson College junior McKenzie Martin is interning with the Kentucky Historical Society at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History. Martin is a history and criminal justice major from Columbia, Ky.
- Reed Bagley, also from Lindsey Wilson College, is interning with the Office of Inspector General in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Bagley is a senior from Lexington.
- Martha Raley is a junior from St. Catharine College from Lebanon, Ky. Raley is majoring in business management and interning in the state Department of Revenue.
- Rhyana Barker, a junior political science and history major at University of the Cumberlands is interning with Rep. Jim Stewart, a Republican state representative from Flat Lick. Barker is from Lily, Ky.
- Kimberly Farr, a University of the Cumberlands political science, history and French major from Kennesaw, Ga. is interning in the office of State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach.
The Frankfort Semester internship program, sponsored by the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities, provides on-the-job experience for students interested in public affairs and also gives them an opportunity to consider public service as a career option. In addition to their work experience, interns complete academic seminars focused on public administration and Kentucky government and politics. Completion of the program qualifies them for up to a full semester of academic credit from their home institutions. Interns also receive a $2,500 stipend to partially cover their living expenses for the semester.
Since its inception in the year 2000, 129 students from Kentucky’s 20 independent colleges and universities have participated in the AIKCU internship program. More information about the AIKCU internship program is available at http://www.aikcu.org/frankfortsemesterinternships/.