Hamilton College COOP Service Interns pose together. Service Interns demonstrate leadership and initiative in community service. Photo courtesy of Hamilton College.
The mission of Hamilton College’s Community Outreach and Opportunity Program (COOP) is to bring together the Oneida County community and our own Hamilton community through service projects. Nonprofit agencies act as the connection between them, allowing students to be involved across Utica, Rome and Clinton. As noted in the Project’s mission statement, they aim to “creat[e] positive change for our community partners as well as educational experiences for our students.” COOP ultimately fosters a bilateral relationship where students are asked to step out of the ‘“bubble’ of campus life” while similarly giving back to the community in which they reside.
As Amy James, Hamilton’s Director of Community Outreach notes how students can especially help support the missions of nonprofits without large budgets. “Our partners have shared that the human resources we bring them have been so helpful,” James notes. “For students,” she says, “my hope is that they can meet a diversity of people, find experiences that might relate to their academics and/or career aspirations, find meaning and hopefully come away with an increased understanding of a variety of social issues. And it’s also okay if they have fun!”
Following this mission, COOP’s internship program, COOP Service Internship (CSI) Program, helps students “keenly passionate about service” to become further involved in COOP’s mission. Each year, eight students are selected to be a part of this program and the tight-knit student group it creates. Once selected, COOP CSI students are paid for their nonprofit internship over the course of two years. Nonprofits can cover a wide range of fields — current locations include Utica City Council, On Point for College and Compassion Coalition, among many others. Students are assigned to their unique site through the interview process which strives to find the best site for each student.
Becky Felker ’26, a CSI student interning at On Point for College, explained how her day can be filled with a range of responsibilities, from sorting student materials to “help[ing] draft a lot of emails to the Higher Education Committee for the New York State Assembly and Senate.” These emails work towards getting their budget approved, and they have an impact: “my favorite memory from my internship would probably be getting a response from the chair of the Higher Education Committee in the New York Assembly and scheduling a meeting. That was pretty cool,” she says.
Students not only get involved through working with their local institution, but also through participating in reflective sessions on Thursday evenings with their CSI student group. “They kind of vary each week…we’ve had some nights where we do arts and crafts and reflect on what we’re doing at our different sites,” she explains, “some nights we have a discussion question and go around and talk about what service means, how we can be better advocates for our sites on campus. We have really interesting speakers come, but overall it’s just a great environment with a lot of food and a lot of people who are like-minded in wanting to help others.” And this collective passion is what administrators love about the COOP community too. When asked about what she is most proud of about the COOP, James has a clear answer: “100% the students I’ve worked with over the years. No question. It has been such a privilege to work with students who care so much, who are willing to take the time out of their busy lives to share their talents and incredible energy with children, the elderly and those living in difficult circumstances.”