RELEASED: July 9, 2009

DANVILLE, KY—This web story is the first in a series this summer about students who have found internships through the Centre Internship Plus program. Through Career Services, Centre Internship Plus allows students to apply for exciting, high-quality internship experiences—some of which are for academic credit—with extra financial support. Students whose internships are approved receive up to $1,500 to help with expenses.

Senior Laura Pasley has long had an interest in education public policy. This summer, she gets to experience first-hand the processes of creating public policy through her Centre Internship Plus with the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

"The Prichard Committee is an independent, non-profit, education advocacy organization based in Lexington. My role for the summer as an intern is to help Associate Executive Director Cynthia Heine with the Strong Start Campaign," Pasley says. "This is an effort to work with policymakers, leaders in early childhood, business, education, religion and healthcare to expand voluntary Pre-K to all of Kentucky's three- and four-year-olds, as well as raise awareness about the benefits of quality preschool for children.”

Pasley's internship gives her a chance to work alongside people who deal with public policy every day.

"I attend many meetings related to the Strong Start campaign, which includes meeting with potential partners in the preschool coalition, attending committee meetings at the capitol, and helping create and edit publications from the Prichard Committee and Strong Start," she says. "What's been most compelling to me has been meeting so many leaders and legislators that are all interested in coming together to work on establishing Kentucky as a leader in education. This gives me a perfect context to begin thinking about how great policies are formed: through coalitions and partnerships. Many members of the Prichard Committee have been a wealth of insights, information, and enthusiasm for me."

Centre Internship Plus has helped Pasley greatly with her internship.

"The Prichard Committee isn't paying me this summer; they're a non-profit, after all," Pasley says. "But the money I receive through Centre Internship Plus helps cover my not getting paid."

Centre faculty also helped Pasley with her internship.

"I originally became interested in this field talking with Dr. Nayef Samhat, who I had for a government class. He referred me to Professor Mary Rudd to see if she knew of possible internships," Pasley says. "She had heard of the Prichard Committee and suggested that I use them as a jumping off point."

Having worked with the Prichard Committee will benefit Pasley after she graduates next year.

"After Centre I would like to pursue a masters in public administration, focusing on non-profit management," she says. "The Prichard Committee was at the forefront of the original Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) and have continued to be a well-respected partner in advocating for quality education for Kentuckians. It was an obvious stepping-stone for me based on my career goals."

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.