Three Bridgewater College students were recognized for leadership excellence at the 2021 Showker Award for Internship Excellence award ceremony today. The students—Annabell Knapp ’21, Stephanie Hintze ‘21 and Rebekah Moyer ‘21—were honored via Zoom.
Up to three awards are given each year to students who have exhibited outstanding leadership excellence during an internship, practicum or other experiential learning activity. Each student award winner receives $350, an opportunity to share their experience and advice with the BC community and a crystal trophy for their site supervisor. The internship excellence awards are a partnership between the Office of Career Services and the Center for Engaged Learning at Bridgewater College.
Knapp ’21, a history and political science and global studies double major from Roanoke, Va., recently completed a remote internship with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). START is an organization supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that focuses on the scientific study of the causes and consequences of terrorism in the United States and around the world.
Knapp’s work at START focused on Kazakhstan, specifically, its history, socio-economic issues and politics. She assisted with the creation of training simulations for the U.S. Department of State to use with Kazakhstani officials.
Stephanie Hintze ’21, a biology major from Mechanicsville, Md., interned at the Dayton Animal Clinic, a local veterinary clinic in Dayton, Va., that focuses on small-animal patients. Her duties involved shadowing the doctors and clinic staff, assisting with examinations and administering treatments, evaluating samples, office administration and customer service.
The internship helped solidify her goal of becoming a veterinarian. However, she is still undecided on small-animal versus large-animal practice. She plans on pursuing opportunities for hands-on experience with large animals so that she can choose the best path for her veterinary future.
Rebekah Moyer ’21, a business major from Luray, Va., completed her internship with Racey Engineering in Luray, Va. As a business intern, Moyer was responsible for a wide range of duties. She leaned heavily on her accounting knowledge to do payroll and expense reports and her business law coursework to rewrite the company’s employee handbook and draft COVID response documents. She also assisted the team with engineering duties.
As a result of her successful internship, Racey Engineering has offered Moyer an employment position after graduation.
Joining the celebration were Bridgewater faculty members Dr. Marcellina Hamilton, Associate Professor of Economics and Business, and Dr. Kimberly Bolyard, Associate Professor of Biology, who spoke on behalf of Moyer and Hintze. The winners were also joined by their site supervisors: Dr. Kevin Carter with the Dayton Animal Clinic, Pat Racey, owner of Racey Engineering, and Eva Coll with START, who spoke to the leadership achievement to which each student aspired. Dr. Randy Young, Director of the Zane D. Showker Institute for Responsible Leadership at Bridgewater College, provided a welcome and explanation of the program, and Sherry Talbott, Director of Career Services and Internships, moderated the event.
