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Northwestern University Public Interest Program Promotes 'Sustainable Change'
Thanks to the Northwestern University Public Interest Program (NUPIP), Ben Protess was able to attend election night festivities at Governor Rod Blagojevich's campaign headquarters. Protess, a recipient of the newly created fellowship, works as a staff reporter and assistant editor for the North Lawndale Community News, a weekly newspaper serving the West Side of Chicago. He, along with 13 others, were awarded positions in the NUPIP after demonstrating the "dedication to civic engagement and systematic social change" that the program looks for.
In 2006, NU Professor Paul Arntson and current fellows/NU alumns Jonathan Marino and Lauren Parnell launched NUPIP to "introduce graduates to organizations whose missions are to create sustainable social change." These organizations include the City of Evanston, Chicago Public Schools and the Center for Neighborhood Technology, as well as places like Urban Gateways that address issues like education, the environment, healthcare, community development and economic development.
In an e-mail, Protess shares his hands-on experience dealing with these issues during his time so far reporting on public affairs issues at the North Lawndale Community News. "I recently conducted a two-month investigation into an Illinois mortgage law that restricts home loans in 10 predominantly minority neighborhoods," he writes. "The expose revealed that the state ignored its own criteria by selecting minority communities for the program, and therefore shut down the real estate market in those areas."
Protess says his assignments involve interviewing politicians (including Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.), community activists and local residents, "all of whom have contributed to my understanding of Chicago's West Side and the art of interviewing." In addition to his ample reporting experience, Protess helped coordinate the paper's shift from bi-weekly to weekly last fall by revising its news agenda and hiring several new writers and editors.
The organizations involved with NUPIP provide recipients with a $24,000 stipend (paid as if they were a normal staffer) to cover expenses throughout the year-long program. In addition to their hands-on experience, fellows work with a Northwestern alumni mentor in their field of interest who will offer them advice about navigating the waters of non-profit work. The final component of the program is a weekly fellow seminar that brings policy-makers, experts and organization leaders from around the Chicago area together to discuss relevant topics.
Fellow Adam Arents is working at Alumni for Public Schools, a relatively new organization that "facilitates volunteer partnerships between individual Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago chapters of college and university alumni associations from around the world," according to its website.
Arents says his NU alumni mentor, John Pfeiffer, an Executive Director for a local non-profit, was extremely helpful in the advice-giving department. "When we first met, he talked about his experience with organizations that address social change and asked me about specific areas of my job with which I could use advice," Arents wrote in an e-mail. "Based on his experience in several non-profit organizations, he has been able to point me to helpful resources that I wouldn't be aware of otherwise. It's especially useful to talk with someone with an outside perspective who can help me think about what I'm doing in new ways."
Participants also agree that the experience they accrued while at NU is called upon on a daily basis. Mary Bowmann is doing her NUPIP fellowship at the Center for Independent Futures (CIF), an Evanston non-profit organization that serves adults with disabilities. She writes in an e-mail that one of the best parts of her job is interacting with CIF's participants and their families.
"The time I spent as a Northwestern volunteer with Special Olympics gave me a comfort and experience level that enabled me to jump right into tutoring, coaching and social activities at CIF," Bowmann adds. "Academically, Northwestern allowed me to develop knowledge, analytical skills and communication abilities that I can use at CIF. The opportunities that I had as a leader at NU gave me the confidence to supervise CIF volunteers of all ages - from high school students to parents of our participants. Without a doubt, my experiences at NU have given me the ability to make an impact and the desire to keep learning along the way!"
The effects that NUPIP has produced in its short existence are immeasurable, and can only mean amazing things for the program as it continues its development and growth. Protess puts it best when he writes, "I advise any Northwestern senior I speak with to consider applying for the PIP fellowship. I tell them that PIP offers invaluable professional training and life experiences. The experiences I have gained as a PIP fellow have been extremely rewarding and will have a lasting impact on my life."
For more information about the NUPIP, click here.
NUPIP Fellow Jonathan Marino (lower right, in glasses) poses with CPS high school students from the Harris Fellows Student Leadership Initiative during teambuilding training in Denver, Colorado.
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