Jean O’Connor-Snyder Interns Share Their Walker County Stories
2023 - 2024 University of Alabama JOIP (from left to right): Cassie Childress, Madi Duboise, Professor John Miller (Faculty Mentor), Sadie Keller, Raegan Harris, Rylen Dympsey. Not Pictured: Chloe Kaplan
On Friday, July 26th, 2024, DMC Education Coordinator Lauren Lockhart joined the Walker County community at Pinnacle Bank in downtown Jasper to hear about the summer experiences of the University of Alabama Jean O’Connor-Snyder Interns.
The morning began with opening comments from Paul Kennedy, President of the Walker Area Community Foundation and the longest community partner of the Jean O’Connor Snyder Internship Program at UA. He explained the joy and impact that the students brought to Walker County this summer and opened the podium for their final presentations.
Presentations began with Super Intern Sadie Keller, who returned this summer as a supervisor and support for the current JOIP interns. Continuing her work with the Jasper Area Family Services Center, Keller helped secure funding for, create, coordinate, and facilitate two grant-funded programs. The Grade Level Reading program helps parents teach kids how to read and learn outside the classroom and engage brain development, family engagement, and resilience. The Born Ready program focuses on emotional and social work, school readiness, brain development, and health and wellness by providing parents with developmentally appropriate resources and activities each week.
Raegan Harris spent her summer working with Jasper Main Street, building connections with the community and supporting projects and tasks. One specific project was the Alabama Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, which provides 25% of qualified rehabilitation expenditures for certified historic buildings used for income-producing or residential purposes. Participating in this project, Harris played an active role in uplifting historic buildings to spaces that the community of Jasper can gather in for years to come.
Freshman Intern Rylen Dempsey worked closely with the Walker Area Community Foundation this summer, specifically in economic development. Meeting with mayors across the county, Dempsey learned more about what it meant to be a civic leader supporting your community and the challenges faced in more rural areas. In Nauvoo, Mayor Terry Burgett had never written a grant before, but in collaboration with WACF and RPC, he secured funding to begin turning an abandoned and unusable school into a park. Nauvoo will also be the first in Walker County with its own .gov URL website. Reflecting on his time in Walker County, Dempsey mentioned, “We made life happen in Walker County…It’s extraordinary how ordinary can be.”
Intern Chloe Kaplan continued presentations, recounting her time working with the Fellowship House Outpatient Program and She Recovers. Pursuing a career in the medical field, Kaplan’s time shadowing modeled what it looks like to emphasize shared decision-making, patient autonomy, and keeping to standards in doctor-patient care, even during times of feeling overrun. She also discovered that solutions were never focused on recovery itself but rather on a support network and infrastructure around social aspects, “If you can change one little part in that aspect, it’s instrumental in changing everything for them…Community is key; people are the greatest assets.”
Spending her last college summer at the Capstone Health Clinic, social work major Cassie Childress is glad that this is what she chose to do. The time at the clinic was enjoyable, but Childress recounts that her biggest appreciation comes from the people of Walker County (and the amazing food). Not only the people and food, but Walker County has some of the best walking trails, water, and nature. During these warm days, Childress spent time and built connections at the Bankhead House, where she plans to continue helping after the internship.
Presentations concluded with Super Intern Madison Duboise describing the importance of her second summer working with the Walker Area Community Foundation and living in Jasper. Throughout her internships, Duboise realized how unique this place is and knows each summer will be just as great as the last. Jasper’s love for lifelong learning, from local history to continuing to learn and grow personally, has her determined to return to Jasper after graduation with Super Intern Sadie Keller. By continuing to build connections within the community, they both look forward to carrying on traditions and creating new experiences.
When asked about the one thing that the interns would share with the outside world concerning the rhetoric about what Jasper and Walker County don’t have and what made their eight weeks so great, each agreed that it was the people, from the nonprofit leaders to the lumber workers and beyond, that made their time so wonderful. Not only the people themselves, but also their beautiful willingness to work together and not be afraid of change because it will bring about something great.
The DMC could not be more grateful for the Walker Area Community Foundation staff, Faculty Mentor and Professor John Miller at the University of Alabama - New College, and the JOIP Interns who dedicate so much of their time and effort to support this program and uplift the community of Walker County. Their passion and commitment to making a positive impact have been truly inspiring, and we are incredibly proud of everything they’ve accomplished this summer. Thank you, interns, for your dedication and for bringing your skills, energy, and creativity to make a difference in Walker County and beyond!
If you are a college or university faculty member and are interested in bringing the Jean O’Connor Snyder Internship Program to your institution, please contact Education Coordinator Lauren Lockhart at llockhart@mathewscenter.org for more information.