Luther junior Harris interns at Sojourner Project

Luther junior Paige Harris of Eagan, Minnesota spent the summer as an intern at the Sojourner Project, a non-profit domestic violence shelter in the Twins Cities that has provided help to those in dangerous situations since 1979.

Harris, daughter of Tal and Amy Harris, graduated from Eastview High School in 2015. She plans to graduate from Luther in 2019 with a major in psychology.

During her internship, Harris learned how to interact with women and children who have experienced domestic violence, including working with the legal and emotional implications of domestic violence. She was responsible for assisting with screen callers over the crisis line, interventions, client meetings, intakes and other paperwork, and cofacilitation of support groups.

While looking for summer internships, Harris felt compelled to work with victims in some sort of capacity. The Sojourner Project was a great fit and allowed her to develop and challenge her psychology interests in therapy and counseling. Harris felt that through the Sojourner Project, she could serve as am important support system to the women and children at the shelter.

Approximately 10 percent of Luther students take an internship for academic credit each academic year. The Luther College Career Center assists students with their internship search through resume preparation, networking, online internship searches, career fairs, on-campus interviewing, and connecting the student to alumni through the college’s Alumni Internship Program. Students also meet with a faculty adviser prior to the internship to create an internship learning plan that includes learning goals and assessment benchmarks.

An internship work supervisor also assists in the process by writing an evaluation of the student at the end of the internship. Students complete a self-reflection form to help finalize the learning experience.

A national liberal arts college with an enrollment of 2,050, Luther offers an academic curriculum that leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree in more than 60 majors and pre-professional programs. For more information about Luther visit the college’s website: http://www.luther.edu.