Three University of Arkansas at Little Rock students are completing eight-week summer internships on the East Coast as part of their study of poverty in the United States.

Dustin Brown, a biology and nonprofit leadership studies and history major from Warren, Mariano Ramirez, a biology and physical therapy major from Lonoke, and Taylor Washington, a molecular biotechnology major from Little Rock are enrolled in the UALR Shepherd Poverty Studies Program.

They are joined by more than 70 students from universities across the country included in the Shepherd Poverty Consortium focused on poverty studies-related internships.

The students took a course on poverty reduction strategies in the spring to prepare them for internships in high-need areas this summer.

UALR is a charter member of the consortium. The Shepherd Poverty Consortium is administered by the Office of Community Engagement.

More about the internships:

Brown, a member of the University Science Scholars Program, is interning at Camp Interactive in New York City, where he is helping introduce inner-city, at-risk youth discover the creative power of technology. The camp’s curriculum provides an adaptive learning environment to help youth focus on teamwork, self-confidence and community.

Ramirez is interning at Rockbridge Area Health Center in Lexington, Virginia, a nonprofit organization providing health care for uninsured and underinsured residents. Children, adults, disabled, elderly, any race or religion, male or female can come to the center and receive basic health care that they otherwise could not afford.

Washington, a member of the University Science Scholars Program and Arkansas Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, is interning at PACT Therapeutic Nursery, in Baltimore, Maryland, which serves young children with medical and developmental challenges in order to reach their full potential.

Brown and Washington are also members of the UALR Chancellor’s Leadership Corps.