My name is Coco Gray and I am a Class of 2021 Psychology major. As my time at Whitman is coming to an end and I’m wondering what my next steps are, I can’t help but reflect back on my first moments as a Whitman College student. As a freshman I spent most of my time in my room in Anderson, trying to make friends in Prentiss Dining Hall, or in the library trying to write a college level essay for my Encounters class. I decided to take a class called the Philosophy of Punishment and Responsibility mainly because the course description was loaded with ideas and topics that I had never considered or learned about before. The course was deeply engaging and sparked an interest in me. Since then, I spent most of my time at Whitman looking for courses that teach me more about America’s criminal justice system and the issues surrounding mass incarceration. Thankfully, I found many courses that aligned with my interests in a number of different departments such as Psychology, Sociology, and Philosophy. I feel exceptionally grateful for the hands-on experience the STAR Project has provided me with. The STAR Project is a non-profit organization in Walla Walla that provides previously incarcerated people with the necessary tools to successfully reenter into the community. Through the STAR Project, I am able to explore my interests in a professional setting and see if a career in the non-profit sector is something I am interested in pursuing post college.
Currently, I am helping the Executive Director of the STAR Project write and research grants from a number of government, state, and non-profit organizations. In order to write a successful grant, one must have a deep understanding of the organization’s programs, an idea of what the funding would be used for, and one must make sure the grant application meets the listed grant requirements. Earlier in the semester the Executive Director and I wrote a winning grant that helped secure funding for the STAR Project and a number of its programs. Grants such as the one we recently secured, fund a number of different programs such as pre-release transition program, general case management, housing, employment, and education. Each program has a number of different ways in which they help justice involved people. For example, the general management program helps STAR Project clients secure a state issued ID, child support and custody issues, legal fees, getting health services, etc. Grant funding allows for the STAR Project’s programs to be successfully run and funded.
Experiences like Coco’s are made possible by the Whitman Internship Grant, which provides funding for students to participate in unpaid internships at nonprofit, some for-profit, and government organizations. We are happy to be sharing blog posts from students who were supported by either a summer, fall, spring, or year-long grants at organizations, businesses, and research labs all around the world. To learn how you could secure a Whitman Internship Grant or host a Whitman intern at your organization, send an email to Assistant Director for Internship Programs, Mitzy Rodriguez