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Five students will receive a stipend as they gain significant working experience in public service this summer through Lafayette internship endowments.
Benton Wilmoth ’05 of Marysville, Ohio, a double major in government & law and international affairs, and Todd Palo ’05(Newtown, Conn.), a history and government & law major, are recipients of the Neil D. Levin ’76 Public Service Fund.
Wilmoth, who spent the spring semester interning at the White House as assistant to the deputy director of intergovernmental affairs, will work at the Export-Import Bank of the United States. The federal agency finances U.S. exports expected to lead to domestic job creation. Wilmoth will assist the professional staff in financial analysis, economics, business development, international finance, communications, accounting, and information technology.
Palo, who took a Lafayette January interim course in Russia and Latvia, will serve in the office of Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson, a Republican representing Connecticut’s Fifth District. His responsibilities will include constituent assistance, traveling with Johnson, letter writing, media monitoring, and participation in special projects that increase familiarity of how the federal government operates.
The Levin fund honors the late executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who perished in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.
Anthropology and sociology major Michele Toplitz ’05 (Wyckoff, N.J.) and Lindsay Hannum ’07(North East, Md.), who intends to major in mechanical engineering, have been awarded the William A. Kirby ’59 internship endowment.
Toplitz, who spent the fall 2003 semester studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, will intern with the Guatemala Human Rights Commission-USA. The non-profit, humanitarian organization was founded in 1982 to monitor, document, and report on the human rights situation in Guatemala. It also advocates for and aids victims of human rights violations in Guatemala. Toplitz will conduct research in Spanish and English during her internship.
Hannum, a Marquis Scholar and Lafayette environmental volunteer, will work at Fair Hill Nature and Environmental Center, a nonprofit in Elkton, Md., serving students and adults from the tri-state area of northeastern Maryland, southwestern Pennsylvania, and northern Delaware. She will serve as an instructional assistant for on-site summer classes, accompany staff during outreach programming, create computer-enhanced presentations for staff use, assist with program research and development, organize and catalog instructional materials, and help maintain the outdoor teaching environment.
Government and law major Stephen Keen ’06 (Shaker Heights, Ohio), a goalie on Lafayette’s ice hockey club and member of Chi Phi fraternity, has received the Franklin C. Phifer ’72 award. He will intern in the office of Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), working on various administrative, press, and legislative projects, including researching legislation and attending hearings or briefings.