2021 in Review
Bridge from 2020 to 2021
In 2020, the pandemic forced 84 of our internship opportunities to be canceled, as the only safe option that year was a remote one, and some community partners were not able to make that pivot. The original slate of 180 internships was reduced to 96 all-remote opportunities - certainly a respectable number, given the challenges and uncertainties we faced.
What did PICS 2021 look like? Compared to the 96 all-remote internships in 2020, we were able to offer 188 total internships in 2021. Of these, 140 were remote, 11 were hybrid (part remote, part in person) and 37 were able to operate safely in person.
| Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS) |
|
|
|---|
| |
2020 |
2021 |
| Remote Internships |
96 |
140 |
| Hybrid Internships |
0 |
11 |
| In-person Internships |
0 |
37 |
| Total Internships |
96 |
188 |
PICS Interns by the Numbers
Fortified by our permanent home within the John H. Pace '39 Center for Civic Engagement, we have been able to reach and attract a large, diverse, and well-prepared pool of applicants. The PICS program in recent years has attracted over 500 student applicants, and despite the unusual pandemic circumstances of last year, was able to attract 478 students.
At PICS we share the University’s commitment to expanding the diversity of its student body and to increasing access to opportunities for underrepresented students. We have strived to work closely with campus partners to reach a diverse group of students, and are proud that 25% of our selected student interns in 2021 identified as first-generation or low-income (for reference, 22% of incoming Princeton students identify as first-generation).
While PICS Interns are distributed across all class years, internships were especially popular among rising sophomores (41%). Approximately 24% came from the Class of 2022 and 35% from the Class of 2023.
PICS interns also represent the breadth of student interests at Princeton and are drawn from across the four divisions (humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering). Some of the most popular majors among PICS interns are shown below.
Highlights
New Program Director
PICS navigated a sea of changes in 2021. Prominent among them was the hiring of a new Program Director. When presented with a fantastic professional opportunity, Caroline Savage left the PICS team in June of 2021. After an expansive search, the Pace Center welcomed Emily Sharples as the new Program Director in late October. Emily joins PICS from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs, where she worked on the Graduate Program Office’s Career Development and Alumni Relations team. Welcome, Emily!
Guggenheim Internships in Criminal Justice
Also in 2021, PICS was excited to welcome the Guggenheim Fellows into the program. The Oscar S. Straus II Fellows in Criminal Justice program provides opportunities for Princeton undergraduate students to develop a real-world understanding of legal issues in criminal justice, to learn about policy innovations, to explore their passions for justice, and to consider future careers in fields related to criminal justice. Created in 1996, this program is made possible by the generous support of the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation. All internships are located in the New York/New Jersey area. PICS happily folded this program into its internship roster, welcoming fantastic new community partners including:
- Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES)
- Correctional Association of New York
- New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
- New York Legal Assistance Group
- Newark Community Solutions
- Vera Institute of Justice
Summer Engagement
We aim to provide our students with ongoing support and opportunities to connect with peers and alumni as desired throughout the summer. In summer 2021, we regularly corresponded with students to provide guidance and remind of PICS as a resource. In addition, we invited students to join a SLACK workspace to reinforce official messages as well as facilitate more spontaneous and informal peer-to-peer communications over the summer.
A highlight of our opportunities for engagement with alumni was a series of virtual Coffee Chats, featuring alumni from various fields in conversation with students. Co-mingled with some informal sessions, these coffee chats rounded out our interns’ summer experience:
- 6/15 Networking over Dessert with Shirley Wu '15
- 6/17 PICS Game Night
- 7/7 PICS Cooking Class with Farm School Cooking
- 7/15 Coffee Chat with Brett Dakin '98 - law, strategy and public policy
- 7/19 Coffee Chat with Christine Chen '97 - arts administration
- 8/2 Coffee Chat with Laura Harder '15 - criminal justice/law
- 8/3 PICS Craft Study Break
- 8/12 Coffee Chat with Dr. Michael McCrory '00 - medical school
Our sincere thanks to alumni who shared their evenings, expertise, and insights with students over the summer. These events provided students with a valuable window into topic areas, and also inspired them to continue integrating service and civic engagement into their lives beyond Princeton.
Alignment with the Pace Center
Having found a permanent home with the University through the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, the PICS program has thrived. The breadth and depth of access to students, community partners and the resources to prepare them well has provided PICS with a strong foundation for growth and success. Situated within a place that values student learning through service and values alumni knowledge and lived experiences through service, PICS is activating students’ civic responsibility and engagement. With Princeton undergraduate demand increasing for service internships, the PICS program is the exemplar of programs to sustain and enhance paid summer service internships. Alignment with the Campus Life and Pace Center 2020-2025 Strategic Plan goals to develop students for a life of meaning and service empowers PICS to fulfill those goals through the substantive and diverse internship experiences it offers and continues to seek out with the support of its strong alumni network. We are confident that this coming year will prove yet again that PICS is a hallmark of the University’s informal motto, in the nation’s service and the service of humanity.
PICS Student Stories of Impact
PICS students reflected that their internships allowed them to grow both 1) professionally by gaining practical job-relevant skills as well as 2) personally, becoming more attuned to their own values and gaining a clearer vision for their career path beyond Princeton.
