This is a great Summers photo. Brennan Lewis (2019) and Monique LaBorde (2017) are working on Brennan's Launch Summer project--a documentary about Pride parades in small Southern towns. Brennan is in the Triangle--ask them about their experiences during Summers and as a Robertson!
We'll use the original Community Summer page for housing and retreat logistics.
Update 3/6/2023
Please let Vicki/Sydney know right away once you hear that you've been accepted into a position.
It's been a busy couple of days for Community Summer. As of Friday, the new Delta Health Center/St. Gabriels position is nearly done and very exciting! Monday, we met with the ENCIP director and learned about the new positions confirmed in Edgecombe County. For now, we can tell you this (others besides Robertsons will be applying):
- Two interns will work with Vidant Advance Care Planning position (one must have a car)
- One intern will work at the Health Department
- One will work with the Edgecombe County Public Schools on mental health, a continuation of the work Perisa Ashar started in Summer 2022
- Two interns will work with the Sheriff, doing ride-alongs with deputies, visiting the jail, and learning about factors related to community health and safety and recidivism
- Two interns will work with Tarboro Parks and Rec, helping create a plan for more green space access and working with the kids in the "waterproofing" program, given persistent high rates of drowning of African American children
- Two interns will work with a non-profit that works with middle-school and high school young men, teaching life skills and lots of other things, informed by the work Emilio Abelmann did Summer 2022.
We now have two people applying for the Sunflower County Freedom Project. SCFP has waited patiently for a few Robertsons to come their way, so we're hopeful these two will be placed there.
Here's the Community Summer Guide 2023 you first received in November, uploaded again with better formatting. We expect you to fully engage in the learning process you've been hearing about for months. The steps outlined in Step 2 of the guide are the minimum for learning.
The class of 2025 created these reflection videos at the end of Community Summer 2022. We showed these at the Community Summer Celebration in November: MS Delta New Orleans Tarboro Whitesburg, KY
We'll put this on a different page soon, but in the meantime, here's the link to upload your Social Security Card or ITIN letter.
Vicki
Positions confirmed for 2023 We've listed the Scholars and a few recent Alumni who held these positions. Expect most positions to begin about June 1 and go through July 2023.
- Breakthrough Collaborative New Orleans * Scholar reviews * summer dates TBA * Application info * Application deadline February 23 --apply after permission from Vicki/Sydney* (Zack Finacchio, Bryce Jones, Melat Woldetensae, 2025; recent Alumni De'Ivyion Drew & Montana Lee)
- Center for Rural Strategies * position description 2023 * Scholar reviews Connected organizations: The Daily Yonder Rural Assembly * car not necessary * (Becca Stern, 2025; senior Charlie Zong; recent Alumni Merritt Jones, Rose Farah, Beza Gebramarian)
- Cowan Community Action Group Inc. * position description 2023 * 2 Robertsons--at least one should have a car * Scholar reviews * read this * (Madeline Metz & Matthew Tweden, 2025; recent Alumni Josie Fulton & Amanda Padden)
- Crescent City Farmers Market * position description 2023 * 2 Robertsons* Scholar reviews * (Alumni Cooper McGuire, John Wulsin, Liz Deane, Austin Stanion, Caitlin Nettleton, Alik Belokopytov, Caroline Leland, Tom Cole, Maire Amlicke, Elle Wilson, Chaya Bhat)
- Delta Arts Alliance * position description 2022 and this academy * 2 Robertsons * car not necessary * Scholar reviews * (Davina Boison, 2025; senior Lilly Clark; recent alumni Kyle Ryan, Allayne Thomas, Brennan Lewis)
- Delta Center for Culture and Learning * position description * 3-4 Robertsons * The Most Southern Place on Earth Workshops take place 6/18-6/24/23 and 7/9-7/15/23 * Scholar reviews * new press watch this * Vishal & Jenna created this amazing resource to launch during Black History Month * Robertsons did these incredible videos and portfolios * (Vishal Jammulapati & Jenna Smith, 2025; recent Alumni Carsten Pran, Kamryn Washington, Lawton Ives, Jake Sheridan, Peter Andringa, Cara Price)
- Delta Health Center (position created in 2022 by alumni, Drs. Nina and Braveen Ragunanthan) * position description 2022 under revision for 2023 * will include project with St. Gabriel Mercy Center * Scholars will spend mornings at the Delta Health Center and afternoons at St. Gabriels, helping teens with ACT prep and holding discussion groups * 2-3 Robertsons * at least one Scholar must have a car and be willing to drive others * Health Center Scholar reviews St. Gabriel's Scholar reviews* (Frank Mercer & Anna Seaman, 2025; talk to senior Jia Dua about her summer with St. Gabriel's)
- Dress for Success * position description 2023 for women only * 2 Robertsons * car not necessary* Scholar reviews * (Malaika Khumalo & Shristi Sharma, 2025; recent Alumni Clara Love, Niharika Vattikonda, Mary Ashley Murrah)
- Edgecombe County Health Department * position description 2023 * ENCIP * 2 positions available* Scholar reviews * (Danica Bajaj, 2025; recent Alumni Sophia Ramirez, Katherine Gan, Ralph Lawton)
- Edgecombe County Public Schools * position description * ENCIP * 2 positions* Scholar reviews * (Emilio Abelmann, Perisa Ashar, 2025)
- Edgecombe County Vidant Hospital Advance Care Planning * description 2023 ENCIP * 2 positions available * Scholar reviews * toolkit * (Dorian Ho, 2025; recent alumni Olivia Olsher, Adam Ushpol, Divya Mahesh)
- HOMES (Housing Oriented Ministries Established for Service) * position description 2022 * 3 Robertsons * at least one Scholar must have a car and be willing to drive the other(s) * Scholar reviews * read this about flood recovery * read this from Ben Rees (Michael Cronin & Jack Morgenstein, 2025; recent Alum, Ben Rees)
- Orleans Public Defenders * position description 2022 will be updated but will be very similar * Scholar reviews * John Oliver did a piece about OPD * one Scholar must have a car and be willing to drive * (Rachel Hatfield & Jax Nalley, 2025; recent Alumni Sam Zahn, Evan Rodgers, Priya Sridhar) APPLICATIONS CLOSED FOR 2023.
- Rural Opportunity Institute * position description 2023 * ENCIP * Scholar reviews (Saisha Dhar, 2025; recent Alum, Jess Edelson) * Recent news
- Sunflower County Freedom Project * position description 2023 * at least one Scholar must have a car and be willing to drive the other(s) * this is the application * application deadline 2/10/23 (preferred) and 3/10/23--apply only after permission from Vicki/Sydney* Scholar reviews 5/26 move-in -7/31/2023 move out * read this * (Atharva Vispute & Jillian Vordick, 2025; recent Alumni Tamira Daniely, Bennett David, Ruth Fetaw)
Positions from 2022 still under review for 2023
- Michael's Angels summer camp * position description 2022 will be revised * ENCIP * Scholar reviews * Watch this * (Katie Chai, Reagan Razon, & Avery Smedley, 2025; Campbell Lindquist; 2024; recent Alumna Michelle Nandi THIS POSITION HAD BEEN CONFIRMED AND IS UNDER REVIEW AGAIN AS OF 2/7/23
- Propeller *draft position description 2022 * Scholar review * Recent news (Jordana Rockley, 2025; recent Alum, Vignesh Alagappan)
Scholars and Recent Alumni, by Location
- Mississippi Delta: Peter Andringa, Ben Ayto, Liza Becker, Trenton Bricken, Lily Clark, Tamira Daniely, Bennett David, Jia Dua, Nonnie Egbuna, Adam Enggasser, Ruth Fetaw, Jemma Frost, Lawton Ives, Warner Lamar, Rasheca Logendran, Dikenna Ogbu, Rahi Patel, Carsten Pran, Cara Price, Naraya Price, Kyle Ryan, Jake Sheridan,Bennett Stillerman, Allayne Thomas, Aakash Thumaty, Kamryn Washington, Aaron Williams, Antonia Young, Michael Zhang
- New Orleans: Sydney Adams, Vignesh Alagappan, Cameron Beach, Christina Boghosian, A.G. Chancellor, Patrick Clinch, Samia Daghestani, Annie Dempsey, De'Ivyion Drew, Annie Evans, Annie Gonzales, Brady Hanshaw, Kalley Huang, Meghana Iragavarapu, Ben Keegan, Jacob Key, Joel Kim, Zoe King, Montana Lee, Clara Love, Nate Miller, Anshu Mohan, Mary Laci Motley, Mary Ashley Murrah, Brooke Porter, Evan Rodgers, Brock Schoenwald, Matt Smith, Priya Sridhar, Becca Sullenger, Niharika Vattikonda, Tom Wanty, Sam Zahn
- Tarboro: Juniors: Karen Gonzales-Palomo, Campbell Lindquist, Felipe Yanaga; Seniors & Alumni: Jess Edelson, Katherine Gan, Anjali Gupta, Naira Ikram, Emily Kian, Ralph Lawton, Serena Lim-Strutt, Divya Mahesh, Michelle Nandi, Olivia Olsher, Sophia Ramirez, Matt Schaefer, Joseph Touma, Adam Ushpol, Hannah Watson
- Whitesburg: Leland Ben, Clare Bradshaw, Jermaine Bryant, Stephen Buys, Jamal Edwards, Rose Farah, Josie Fulton,Beza Gebramariam, Merritt Jones, Georgia Lala, Weston Lindner, Rachel Maunus, Michael Muller, Amanda Padden, Ben Rees, Kameron Sediqh, Kat Tan, Elise van den Hoek, Savannah Wooten, Vishnu Ramachandran, Sierra Winters, Charlie Zong