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Higher Education Policy Intern

About the Active Minds Internship Program

Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization changing the culture around mental health. Through our presence at more than 1,000 high school and college campuses, in corporate settings, and with a wide-reaching public audience, Active Minds is creating communities of support and saving lives. Founded in 2003 by Alison Malmon after the tragic suicide of her brother Brian, Active Minds is dedicated to supporting a new generation in ending the silence, helping to make mental health as highly valued as physical health. Through our many programs – including the emotionally gripping Send Silence Packing® traveling exhibit and our compelling Active Minds Speakers – we are changing culture and behaviors related to mental health across the country. 

Our internships are geared towards current college students and recent college graduates.  As a small nonprofit, Active Minds relies on the help of our interns tremendously as they work directly on important initiatives and projects as well as assist staff on a variety of administrative tasks.  Interns have the opportunity to do substantive work, gain experience in the nonprofit sector, and help change the culture around mental health. 

All Summer 2024 internships will be remote with an anticipated start date of June 3, 2024 and end date of July 26, 2024.  We expect interns to work a minimum of 20 hours a week, set a consistent work schedule between 9:00am and 5:00pm EST Monday - Thursday, and commit to staying on board for the entire semester. 

Active Minds pays interns a stipend of $1,250 per month. 

Higher Education Policy Intern Key Responsibilities

The Higher Education Policy Intern will support the organization's policy and advocacy initiatives aimed at improving college student mental health specifically.  They will work with both the Higher Education and Policy Teams to create engaging, shareable content to help increase awareness of Active Minds programming. 

The Higher Education Policy Intern will work directly with both the Policy Manager and the Senior Manager, Higher Education on Active Minds’ new mental health advocacy trainings and resources being released in 2024.  Some key responsibilities include: 

  • Conduct research and track/analyze legislation on youth mental health policy topics such as mental health information on student IDs, funding for mental health resources in higher education, means reduction on college campuses, and school leave of absence policies
  • Support the creation and promotion of new policy advocacy training for college students
  • Assist in the creation of new policy and advocacy resources for college students
  • Alongside the Policy Manager and Senior Manager of Higher Education, conduct virtual policy and advocacy workshops for college students in the Active Minds network
  • Attend Zoom meetings and prepare reports to be shared with the partners in coalition settings

The Higher Education Policy intern will be a valued member of the team who will support the mission and vision of our work through a variety of projects in ways both big and small. 

Qualifications:

  • Interest in higher education mental health policy and advocacy  at the college, state and federal levels
  • Has either attended or is attending a college or university
  • Familiarity with the legislative process and also policy systems in a higher education context
  • Strong writing and editing skills
  • Strong leadership and facilitation skills
  • Strong public speaking skills
  • Strong time and project management skills
  • Experience in leadership roles at a higher education institution (college or university), experience working with Student Affairs or College administration preferred.
  • Demonstrated ability of working in teams under deadlines
  • Ability to react with appropriate levels of urgency to situations and events that require quick response or turnaround
  • Knowledge of Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Zoom, and Dropbox

Application Process
The application cycle for the Summer 2024 Internship Program will be open from February 5, 2024 to February 23, 2024.  When completing the application, please thoughtfully answer each question in complete sentences. Applicants selected for an interview will be contacted by March 15, 2024. We value the time that applicants put into completing their application, but due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are unable to provide responses to phone calls or emails regarding application status.