In 2024, Embrace Living Communities (ELC) started partnering with local Chicago universities, like Loyola University, to offer college internship opportunities to students pursuing various degrees and interests.
“The impact that ELC is making in several communities across the Chicagoland area is admirable,” says Omega Cruz, Assistant Director of Employer Relations and Career Services at Loyola. “Providing Loyola students with the opportunity to gain experience while making an impact is an important characteristic of our program.”
One of those students is Marvin Galvan, a Skokie, Illinois native and sophomore nursing student at Loyola, where he is participating in a research and grant writing internship with ELC.
Marvin decided to attend Loyola after he landed on nursing as a major, something he is passionate about because it exists at the intersection of science and helping others. Through this college internship, Marvin gets to help others in ways he hadn’t previously explored, and he is excited by the opportunity to make a difference while learning valuable professional skills.
Making a Difference Through Grants
After discovering ELC on a virtual job and internship board, Marvin realized their mission, paired with the flexibility and convenience of a mostly remote internship, would make them a good fit for him. Through this internship, his primary responsibility is researching grant opportunities to support ELC’s social service programming. This means Marvin spends time connecting with ELC residents over video calls to learn more about what they need in terms of social services.
“The interviews with the residents are the most enjoyable thing I’ve done so far because you’re directly seeing the impact,” says Marvin. “Every action that I take and the amount of work I put in is reflected in the communities, and seeing that through the interviews is amazing, which is why I want to do the best work I can.”
Changing Student Lives While Helping the Community
As a nursing student, Marvin is excited by the parallels he sees between his studies and the work he’s doing through his grant writing internship.
“Some of these residents are at a low point, not making the most income or away from their families,” says Marvin. “Bringing social services and things that can help them, like health screenings, wellness checks and fitness classes, can bring their mood up. In terms of nursing, it’s similar to healing them but instead of providing direct care, I’m helping bring services, grants and other things that can make their lives better.”
This is one of ELC’s core commitments: to ensure seniors and people with disabilities have a safe, affordable home where they can embrace life. Embracing life means having access to health resources and programs, which Marvin is helping ELC secure through the grants he finds.
“Internships like this have all kinds of benefits for students and for the broader Loyola community, including students being able to receive on-hands experience that are helpful both to a nonprofit organization now and to students as they prepare for a career,” says Cruz. “It can broaden a student’s horizons thinking about the possibilities available to them in terms of vocation, and it provides the Loyola community the opportunity to exemplify Jesuit values like being a person with and for others.”
Are you a school interested in partnering with ELC to provide your students with internship and volunteer opportunities? Contact Alina Serban at aserban@embraceliving.org to learn more information.
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