College and university students not only receive funding for their education—$3,500 in scholarships—but also earn hourly wages. Best of all, they’ll garner real-world career experience in the Kalamazoo County business community.

The program is open to incoming juniors, seniors and graduate students who will be full-time students in good academic standing with their school during the fall semester of the year in which they’re applying. Students must attend one of the following colleges or universities:

• Kalamazoo College: incoming juniors, seniors and graduate students
• Western Michigan University: incoming juniors, seniors and graduate students
• Kalamazoo Valley Community College: incoming second-year students
• Davenport University (Kalamazoo campus only): incoming juniors and seniors
• Michigan State University: incoming juniors, seniors and graduate students who graduated from a Kalamazoo-area approved high school
• University of Michigan: incoming juniors, seniors and graduate students who graduated from a Kalamazoo-area approved high school

Eligible internships must be geographically located in Kalamazoo County.

How it Works

Students apply for internships directly through participating companies typically from December through February.  Employers will work independently to hire interns, using their own established criteria and hiring methods. Based upon availability, each participating company may have up to three internship positions per program year via the Monroe-Brown Foundation. Internships are available until filled, so we encourage students to put their applications in early.

Once an intern is hired, he or she will work for the company for a minimum of 400 hours between May 1st and August 31st. (Typically an intern works full-time for 10 weeks, but the schedule can be customized to suit the needs of individual companies and interns.) Companies must pay interns at least minimum wage.

Upon successful completion of the internship, as directed and decided by the employer, see the following:

– Both the company and the Monroe-Brown Foundation will pay the intern a $500 bonus, for a total of $1,000.

– The Monroe-Brown Foundation will provide one payment of $2,500 at the end of the first successfully completed semester following the internship period.

– For tax purposes, all payments from the Monroe-Brown Foundation must be made directly to the school and applied to the student’s account.