Four UNCSA undergraduates selected for SECU Public Fellows Internship Program

UNCSA has announced the recipients of its inaugural State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) Public Fellows Internship Program supported by the SECU Foundation.

The 2022 summer recipients from UNCSA are:

• May Bonner of Efland, interning with the Cleveland County Arts Council, including the Real to Reel Film Festival, held annually in Kings Mountain.
• Daniel Ervin of Taylorsville, interning with the Piedmont Triad Film Commission (covering the 12-county Piedmont area).
• Jamilah Muhammad of Winston-Salem, interning with RhinoLeap, a professional theater company located in Asheboro. 
• Cheyenne Oxendine of Lumberton, interning with the Cucalorus Film Festival, held annually in Wilmington.

All are students in the UNCSA School of Filmmaking except Muhammad, who is a student in the UNCSA School of Drama. All were selected after an interview process and will receive a maximum stipend or payment of $5,000 per intern.

The SECU Public Fellows Internship Program helps develop future leaders, build capacity of nonprofit and government agencies, and reduce the talent drain from rural communities in North Carolina. The internships provide talented in-state undergraduate students with meaningful work experience, professional development, and a unique opportunity to serve hometown communities over the summer. 

“We are pleased to participate in the SECU Public Fellows Internship Program for the first time,” said Rebecca Nussbaum, director of the Office of Career Development and  Community Engagement at UNCSA. “Our four interns are enthusiastic about working in the various communities of North Carolina and learning from our partner agencies. We look forward to seeing how they incorporate what they will learn in their internships to their artistic practice at UNCSA. We are grateful for the opportunity provided by the SECU Foundation.”

The internship program was first announced in 2015, collaborating with the UNC System for a three-campus pilot. The success of the pilot, along with the growing need for paid undergraduate internships led the SECU Foundation to expand the reach to all 16 universities, including UNCSA. Each participating university administers the SECU Public Fellows Internship Program locally.

A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, SECU has been providing employees of the state of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for more than 80 years. The SECU Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization funded by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high impact projects in the areas of housing, education, health care and human services. 

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