EIU Humanities Center

Fox Ridge State Park Internship

The Fox Ridge Foundation in conjunction with Eastern Illinois University’s Center for the Humanities is offering a scholarship for a summer internship to work at Fox Ridge State Park, located eight miles south of Charleston. This program allows students to obtain practical experience and meet requirements for their college curriculum. We are looking for a bright, energetic, and motivated intern who will plan, coordinate, and promote programs and events at Fox Ridge State Park.

Intern Position Description:

Objective

The Intern will be an ambassador for Fox Ridge State Park to promote increased participation and enhance visitor services by providing quality programming to the public with respect to the park’s natural and recreational resources. They will be available to assist Park personnel when needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

Applicant must possess the ability to interact with visitors of all ages and be able to assist them with questions covering all aspects of the Park. Must be able to answer questions regarding camping, picnicking, hiking, fishing, birding, hunting etc. The intern must be able to explain the interpretive displays in the center and identify the park’s natural vegetation, wildlife, birds, natural formations and history. Intern responsibilities include: program development, scheduling, brochure design, promotion and implementation of events, camper interaction, preparation and maintenance of web and social media sites, evaluation, and other duties.

Term of Internship

The intern will work during Spring semester for 10 hours/week beginning in March to the end of the semester and then 30 hours/week during the summer. For Spring Semester the intern will work with the Foundation and the Center to plan a program of events for the Summer schedule, and will then reach out to the greater Charleston community in order to advertise the program, including designing a brochure, setting up social media such as facebook and twitter, contacting local school systems and youth groups to present the summer activities to children. After program approval, the intern will begin liaison activities and distribute brochures. In the Summer semester, the intern will implement the planned program and continue the development and promotion of events.

The internship pays approximately $11.00 per hour.

Supervision and FRF committee support

Immediate supervision is given by the Site Superintendent and Site Supervisor at Fox Ridge State Park. The internship will be overseen by the Director of the Center for the Humanities. The Foundation Personnel Committee will be available to: provide materials for small projects, suggest community resources, and discuss the internship.

Preferred Attributes

The Foundation wants to increase community involvement with the Park. Therefore, the intern must be able to work well with groups of all ages and relate well to seniors, adults and children. The job requires independent research and problem-solving skills, and the ability to formulate and address questions. Strong abilities in written and spoken communication are required in order to liaison between park and university members, between local residents and the humanities center, both in face-to-face and electronic encounters. Interns will develop their critical and creative thinking skills in order to develop and (just as important) promote events and initiatives that help bring more local residents to the Park for educational programming. The internship will center on service and cooperative learning, while demanding a high level of communication skills.

List of Potential Programs & Events:

Certain events, such as “Insect Night,” are held annually, and the intern will assist in promoting them. We have a list of programs that have been planned in the past, but this year’s intern, with input from the Foundation and the Center, will ultimately determine the summer schedule. Possible events include: Environmental education programming (animals, plants, invasives, trails, weather, topography, sustainable energy, etc.), survival skills (shelter, fire, water, food -- perhaps a Zombie-theme event?), “History Hike,” outdoor cooking (grill, fire, solar, etc.), a geo-caching event, nature crafts, bat houses, guided hikes, public relations work, family games, volleyball, baseball/softball, photography, volunteer coordination, fishing, plankton.

Requirements:

Applicant must be enrolled at Eastern Illinois University, and possess a driver’s license.

Application:

Please submit 1) the three-page application form, 2) at least two recommendation letters (these may be sent as hardcopies with your application, or as emails sent by letter writers directly to the address below), and 3) your 350-word response to the final question, to

Fox Ridge Internship Program
℅ The Center for the Humanities
Eastern Illinois University
1343 Doudna Fine Arts Center
Charleston, IL 61290

You may mail the application or download the PDF here and deliver it to our office. You may also submit the application via email to: humanitiescenter@eiu.edu (Subject Line: [Your name] Fox Ridge Internship Application).

If you have any questions about the internship, please contact us at the email above, or call (217) 581-3968.