Wittenberg University’s Hagen Center recently celebrated the conclusion of its civic internship program at the Springfield Museum of Art. The event brought together the center’s wide range of community partners, civic leaders and participating students.
“It is a combination of giving students hands-on professional development, real-world experience,” Program Coordinator Kristen Collier said about the internship. “But we add another layer that pushes them to think about how they will be active members of a community.”
The program runs from late May to the end of July and aims to give participants real-world experience. Civic and community engagement are vital components of the program. Each year, a different theme is chosen with hope, reciprocity, interconnectedness and gratitude being the focus of 2025.
“Some interns have actually interned with organizations here in Springfield, stayed and gotten hired. Some of those interns are still here in Springfield,” Collier said about past graduates of the program. “Wherever they land, they’re taking these values, these messages and these lessons wherever they go. For me, the thrill is to see those connections made.”
Lanhart, a Wittenberg senior who is a dual major in theatre performance and psychology, called the program “incredible”.
“The program does a great job of giving students both experience and opportunities to pursue professional growth,” Lanhart said. “This summer, I’ve met so many wonderful people, and (I have) connections and opportunities now because the people I have met.”
For her first year through the program last summer, Lanhart worked with Clark County’s Developmental Disabilities. This year, Lanhart was paired with Project Jericho, which provides visual and performing arts programming to youth and families across Clark County.
These experiences are partly why Lanhart plans to stay in the Springfield area, she said.
Tymeerah De’Armond was another intern who seized the opportunity to connect with the local community. Flanked by her mother, Melanie Henry, she described how the program allowed her to help children.
“I applied for the program because I wanted to work with children and help support the community,” De’Armond said. “I learned that Springfield has a lot of people that really care for the community and that there is more stuff for the youth than people really know.”
Her mother said De’Armond‘s dedication to teach children made it easy to support De’Armond in the program.
“She has a love for kids. She wakes up with joy everyday to be with them, teach them and give the ones that need extra love some extra loving,” Henry said.
Collier, as well as others at the event and part of the internship, were quick to emphasize just how important the year’s theme was. It was inspired by Robin Wall Kimmerer’s bestseller “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World.”
“We learn from the author in this book that the serviceberry has a relationship with the natural world that is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness and gratitude,” Collier said. “Serviceberries provide us with a model for how we should interact with our community.”
Collier cited the many challenges faced by Springfield and other communities around the country as she described the importance of the theme. It was one of several vital takeaways of the event.
“The serviceberry mimics for us how to be giving, connected and thankful. And these actions create hope. Because when it’s tough out there and things aren’t the way you want them to be, hope is one of the things you hang your hat on, and by doing these actions, you create more hope,” Collier said.
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