A new program at the IU Center for Rural Engagement offers students unique experiential learning opportunities that support community goals in rural Indiana.
Launched in the fall of 2024, the Rural Scholars Program identifies high-priority projects in rural communities and matches them with students driven to make a lasting impact in the Hoosier state.
“We believe that authentic learning occurs when students can learn from a real problem affecting a real community,” said Colleen Rose, director of student engagement. “Our rural partners benefit from motivated, eager students with the specialized skills to support projects that improve Hoosier lives.”
This fall, Rural Scholars are recording the oral histories of Black elders for Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program; creating placemaking designs for the communities of Washington and Ferdinand; performing archival work for the Santa Claus Museum & Village in Santa Claus, Indiana; and advancing rural health initiatives in south central Indiana.
The inaugural group of interns includes students Brittany Eckler, Olivia Grace Williams Novak, Shreya Pandit, and Francie McCormick. They’ve each had the opportunity to engage in hands-on work related to their academic disciplines—from library science to history to comprehensive design.
“In turn, the students have been able to support projects that will ensure the preservation of the history of Indiana and amplify the unique characteristics of our state’s rural communities,” Rose said.
Eunice Trotter, director of Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program, said initiatives like the Rural Scholars Program are crucial to the organization’s efforts to build a statewide oral archive of Black history and heritage.
“Student internships are a tremendous help because they become an extension of our resources that we are really needing to increase,” Trotter said. “However, as we all know, that typically requires financial investment, and we are seeking that. But in the meantime, we are able to get crucial support through volunteers, and in this case, the Rural Scholars Program. It becomes a very significant support to the work that we’re doing statewide.”
Trotter noted that many of the stories being recorded have never been fully documented.
“We are learning so much about the beginning of these communities, the accomplishment of people within those communities, and the trials they overcame to continue in those communities today,” she said.
The Rural Scholars Program complements the center’s Sustaining Hoosier Communities initiative, which relies on semester-long IU courses to advance community-identified projects.
“Not all projects are well-suited to the limitations of a 16-week course,” Rose said. “This program provides a more nimble and specialized response to advancing our partners’ most important projects.”
