Internship

Internship Program with ​Marquette University

The following is a letter from Dr. Ed de St. Aubin, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Marquette University:

The connection between Project RETURN and Marquette University goes back nearly four decades. During the early 1970’s, Marquette students walked over to Cross Lutheran Church on North 16th street, then the headquarters of Project RETURN, to engage in tutoring, writing projects, social events, and other activities that resulted in mutual learning. The formerly incarcerated clients of Project RETURN gained academic skills, GEDs, and new friends. The students learned about criminology but also about redemption and resilience. Everybody participating learned about the great things that can be accomplished when folks work together with a foundation of respect and love.

As a member of the Project RETURN Board of Directors and also a professor in the Psychology Department of Marquette, I have seen the value of this connection and tried to sustain and strengthen it.

Four principles shaped the design of this program. First, it must be mutually beneficial to both the students and to Project RETURN. Second, it must combine applied work, academic exploration, and personal discernment. This is why we meet weekly to discuss the student’s experiences and scholarship regarding the reentry process. Third, the director – that’s me – must be integrally involved in a way that seamlessly integrates the academic mode with community engagement. We did not want to make this a two-worlds experience for students who are expected to work “out there” in the community and then to return to campus for separate and disconnected discussions. It helps that I am on the Board and so intimately aware of the agency’s inner-workings. Our final principle is that the program must evolve – through continuous assessment, discernment, and discussion – such that it meets the changing needs of the program and of the students.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any comments or questions about this endeavor:
​Ed de St. Aubin at [email protected], or call me at (414) 288-2143.

A video made by intern Will Eikenbary during their time working with the Marquette University Social Justice & Psychology Internship cluster.

Intern Sophia Hess and her mentor at Project Return.