In the photo left to right: Back: Truman Danek, Charlie Agnew, Liam McGraw, and Luke Henige. Front: Mirabella Carolan, Peyton Lamb, Sydnie Gillet, Raegan Taylor, Owen Feldpausch, and Lily Bruff

This summer, the Cook Family Foundation was proud to continue the Cook Fellows program across Shiawassee County, welcoming 11 University of Michigan students home to make a difference in the communities they know and love. The Foundation partners with local nonprofit and government organizations to provide meaningful internship opportunities for University of Michigan students from Shiawassee County. This year is the 14th year of the Cook Fellows program, and we were grateful to continue our relationships with several long-standing partners while also welcoming new organizations into the Cook Fellows program.

At its heart, the Cook Fellows program is about connection. It connects talented young people with organizations doing important work in their communities, while giving students the opportunity to gain real-world experience and give back to the place they call home. The result is a true win-win-win: local organizations gain talented and enthusiastic support, students build valuable professional skills and relationships, and Shiawassee County benefits from the energy and ideas of its next generation of leaders.

This summer the Foundation funded eleven Fellows across the county at eight different nonprofit or governmental agencies. Each student interviewed and was hired at their placement through the partners’ process; this allows for the partners and the students to find a mutually beneficial fit for placement. We had Fellows at the Durand Area Chamber of Commerce, DeVries Nature Conservancy, Friends of the Shiawassee River, Memorial Healthcare, and more. Every placement offered something different. Students had the opportunity to learn about their chosen fields, take on meaningful responsibilities, and see firsthand how local organizations serve the community. At the same time, host organizations benefited from the fresh perspectives, skills, and enthusiasm that these students brought to their work.

SEDP’s Jody Roethele, Sally Warren, and Brent Jones with fellow, Charlie Agnew

The experience extended beyond the workplace. Throughout the summer, fellows also had opportunities to connect with the Foundation and one another. These gatherings gave students a chance to build friendships, expand their professional networks, share what they were learning, and discover new possibilities through the experiences of their peers. Those connections and lessons will stay with them long after the summer ends. Fellows return to the University of Michigan with new experiences to add to their resumes, stronger professional skills, new relationships, and a deeper appreciation for the importance of serving their communities.

At the end of the experience, all participants were surveyed to share insights about their time working in Shiawassee County. The Foundation wanted to learn more about the fellows’ experiences, whether it reinforced their current career goals or shifted their path. Every fellow reported that they would recommend being a Cook Fellow to their peers, and that their time spent in Shiawassee this summer had a positive impact on their community.

Interestingly, half of the fellows reported that their summer experience affirmed their future career goals, while the other half reported that it caused them to shift their career path. This is exactly why these experiences are important – it helps young people to learn if they are truly interested in a path or not before they are too far down the path. One fellow said, “As a pre-med student, getting involved with clinical research has inspired me to become involved as a physician and follow in the footsteps of many of the doctors who I’ve seen participate.”

Greater Durand Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Candyce Wolsfeld, and Fellow, Raegan Taylor

An additional big win for the Foundation is that these students end the summer with more professionalism under their belts. Growth as a professional is more than just using Google and Spreadsheets. A positive example of this is a fellow stating, “The biggest lesson I learned was there is more than one way to come to a resolution.”

The Foundation looks forward to continuing to bring University of Michigan students back to Shiawassee each summer for partnership, growth, and community engagement. If you are interested in learning more about the Cook Fellows program or how to have a student at your agency, please contact Rachel at the Foundation at Rachel@cookfamilyfoundation.org. Visit our Fellows tab on our website to get more details!