The UW–Madison LEAP (Learn, Experience, Advance, Participate) Forward Internship wrapped up it’s fourth successful summer of the program. LEAP was piloted in the summer of 2018 as a part of UW–Madison’s Anchor Partner Commitment to the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) and the Personalized Pathways Program. LEAP Forward has been designed as an equitable opportunity for MMSD rising 11th and 12th grade Pathways students and enables students to explore passions in health sciences through practical and professional experiences on UW–Madison’s campus. The program prioritizes admittance to students who are underrepresented, would be first generation college students, and/or students who are receiving free/reduced lunch. To ensure equitable access to this opportunity, LEAP Forward provides students with a lump sum wage as well as 1-college credit over the course of 6 weeks during the summer. This effort has been developed in collaboration with cross-campus entities and administered by the Office of Student Financial Aid with credit offered through the School of Education’s Department of Counseling Psychology.
This year’s cohort was comprised of 16 students from East, LaFollete, and Memorial high schools. The students interned 12 hours/week at 6 UW–Madison host sites which included: Morgridge Community Outreach, Veterinary Medicine, Physical Therapy, McBurney Disability Resource Center, Tiny Earth, Kinesiology, and College of Agriculture Life Sciences-White Lab. The students also had the opportunity to engage with 10 additional UW–Madison departments throughout their 6 week UW course. One LEAP intern commented, “The LEAP Forward Internship is an amazing, immersive opportunity that allows me to gain experiences about what it would be like to work in a number of different healthcare fields.” Another LEAP intern stated, “LEAP is a really rare experience and I am grateful to be a part of the program.”
The UW–Madison LEAP (Learn, Experience, Advance, Participate) Forward Internship wrapped up it’s fourth successful summer of the program. LEAP was piloted in the summer of 2018 as a part of UW–Madison’s Anchor Partner Commitment to the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) and the Personalized Pathways Program. LEAP Forward has been designed as an equitable opportunity for MMSD rising 11th and 12th grade Pathways students and enables students to explore passions in health sciences through practical and professional experiences on UW–Madison’s campus. The program prioritizes admittance to students who are underrepresented, would be first generation college students, and/or students who are receiving free/reduced lunch. To ensure equitable access to this opportunity, LEAP Forward provides students with a lump sum wage as well as 1-college credit over the course of 6 weeks during the summer. This effort has been developed in collaboration with cross-campus entities and administered by the Office of Student Financial Aid with credit offered through the School of Education’s Department of Counseling Psychology.
This year’s cohort was comprised of 16 students from East, LaFollete, and Memorial high schools. The students interned 12 hours/week at 6 UW–Madison host sites which included: Morgridge Community Outreach, Veterinary Medicine, Physical Therapy, McBurney Disability Resource Center, Tiny Earth, Kinesiology, and College of Agriculture Life Sciences-White Lab. The students also had the opportunity to engage with 10 additional UW–Madison departments throughout their 6 week UW course. One LEAP intern commented, “The LEAP Forward Internship is an amazing, immersive opportunity that allows me to gain experiences about what it would be like to work in a number of different healthcare fields.” Another LEAP intern stated, “LEAP is a really rare experience and I am grateful to be a part of the program.”