Urban Life Center gives students chance to explore careers in Chicago

LAURA SACHJEN

Staff Writer

The Urban Life Center in Chicago is an experimental internship program that allows students the opportunity to explore career interests while also living independently in an urban setting.

“It’s great for students to participate in if they’ve been from a small town,” Mindy Sargent, Associate Director of Student Development said. “It gives students lot’s of opportunities for street smarts.”

ULC has been affiliated with Alma for at least 10 years. The program has two formal winter and fall terms, as well as a May Post Term and a summer session.

Students participating in the program live in furnished apartments in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. They are also given cooperative food accounts at a nearby supermarket.

For deciding an internship, students first look at the typical internship sites and then submit an essay about what they would want to learn in that area.

After that, students go out to the sites with their resumes and 8 credits are earned for the interview process. They also decide which worksite is a good match for them.

On top of that, participants also engage in a “Communities and Cultures Seminar” or some independent research of their own. Before going into the directed study option, students first work in a group and research a Chicago mural.

The four-credit seminar is designed as a way for students to learn about the city through first-hand experiences. They might go to community forums, cultural arts events or talk with activists or cultural artists.

Besides room, board, and books, tickets for cultural events and in-city transportation are built into the program fees. The cultural events may range anywhere from jazz and comedy clubs to art museums. While there, students also try to gain an understanding of the city’s neighborhoods.

“Students come back more informed about their career field,” Sargents said. “They’re more enthused, and have greater contributions to make in class. I think they also enthuse the campus.”

Sargent also said that in a large city there are opportunities, in fields involving bilingual speaking and public relations, which aren’t available in a town of Alma’s size.

Sara Satterley (04) worked for Chicago Public Schools in a Hyde Park grammar school during her time in the program.

“It’s a big city, but it’s not to far away,” Satterley said. “You learn more when you’re living there. You see parts of

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