Our SHECP Interns

The Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP) 

We are getting new interns this Summer 2023! Look out for them in the community this June!

SHECP seeks to transform the study of poverty in the United States by building a vibrant consortium of 26 colleges and universities that lead the development of undergraduate poverty studies programs and the support of innovative work in poverty-related study. 

This eight-week program pairs students with nonprofit organizations that work to strengthen impoverished communities, urban and rural. They focus on a variety of poverty related areas, including: education, healthcare, legal services, housing, nutrition, social and economic needs, and community building. Student interns live simply on $14 a day, at the Franciscan Center. 

Our First Group of SHECP Interns

Summer 2019

Olivia Burke, Elspeth Suber, Mariel E. , Victoria Yeh, Shawn Li, Sean Mack

With Friar Martin Kobos and Kathy Jeremiah

Elspeth Suber

My experience in Shamokin has opened my eyes to a community unlike any other I have ever experienced before. It is so encouraging to work with people, like Kathy Jeremiah and the staff at CSO, who genuinely care about their community and are passionate about making it better for others. I am inspired, because of them, to do the same. 

This internship has been a life changing experience for me. As someone who have lived in growing urban areas all his life, I have read and heard about the poverty in these former industrial towns but never experienced them. I have come to recognize how rural poverty contrast with urban poverty and the difficulties that are unique to the coal region. I will miss Pennsylvania and hopefully return to this area to contribute my work experience and expertise to the fight against poverty. 

Shawn Li

Victoria Yeh

Shamokin has opened my eyes to a whole new world, and despite having been lucky enough to travel the world, I've never lived in such a unique place before. The warm and welcoming residents have made it feel like a second home to me, and I cannot thank everyone here enough for everything they havce taught me. I will miss Shamokin and everyone in it a lot. 

Sean Mack

Shamokin, Northumberland County, and the amazing people I met will walways have a place in my heart. 

Olivia Burke

Shamokin is a community of people who ferociously care for one another; a place full of people dedicated to helping and serving their neighbors through the pitfalls of life. 

Mariel E

More than anything, I am so appreciative of how welcoming and hospitable Shamokin members of Mother Cabrini have been to us. Being in a town completely different than anything I have ever been exposed to has been challenging, but the support we received from people who directly interacted with us never went unnoticed.