Six UALR students have been selected to participate in internships at The Washington Center, an independent nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.

The UALR students in Washington are: Abigail Marshall, a mass communication major from Searcy; Mackenzie Bolt, an anthropology and international studies double major from North Little Rock; KenDrell Collins, an economics and professional/technical writing major from Osceola; Mehr Shah, an undeclared major from Little Rock; Hayley Chronister, an art major from Hot Springs; and Jeannie Kuang-Nguyen, a chemistry major from Sherwood.

They will gain real-world experience and also earn six hours of academic credit during their summer internships scheduled June 2 through Aug. 8.

The Washington Center was founded in 1975 to mold students into strong leaders and make that opportunity available to young people everywhere. Since then, more than 50,000 students have participated in the largest internship program in the world.

To be eligible for The Washington Center program, applicants must be at least 18, maintain a 2.75 grade point average, receive academic credit from their college or university for their participation, and have approval from the campus liaison.

“Students have opportunities to experience things that they wouldn’t otherwise through this program,” said UALR Psychology Professor and Campus Liaison Elizabeth Sherwin.

“Beyond the internship, where they are making connections and seeing how things work—it influences the way they think about their career or that area of study,” Sherwin said.

The Washington Center offers internships in every career field from arts and humanities to health and science during the spring, summer and fall semesters. The tuition, including the program fee and housing, totals about $10,200 for the summer program.

The state of Arkansas is providing each student a stipend of $6,000 to help defray the tuition costs. The university then forwards the tuition fees the students pay toward meeting the hefty cost of the internship.