University of Mississippi students participating in the CEED Initiative are working in communities across the state to promote growth through community and economic development. Participants are paired with organizations ranging from local chambers of commerce to state agencies. Illustration by Cole Russell/University Marketing and Communications
Ole Miss students build partnerships and address challenges in communities across state
Eleven University of Mississippi students are spending the summer building partnerships with Mississippi communities as part of the university’s Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Initiative.
The program, known as the CEED Initiative, is part of the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement. The Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation has funded the CEED program since its 2014 launch.
“The Grisham-McLean Institute is unique among community engagement centers across the nation because of our focus on fighting poverty,” said Laura Martin, the institute’s associate director. “We carry out that mission with a range of partners, from local chambers of commerce to state agencies.”
The internships give students real-world experience in promoting growth through community and economic development.
“There are change agents in every community, and it is always exciting to see young people come forward to share their ideas for community improvement,” said Albert Nylander, a sociology professor and director of the Grisham-McLean Institute.
The CEED Initiative helped attract Kaylee Lemley, a Greenwood junior majoring in business with a minor in marketing, to Ole Miss. Nylander spoke to a leadership program that Lemley participated in during her senior year of high school.
“He then invited me to visit Ole Miss and learn more about the program, and that opportunity ultimately led to me attending the University of Mississippi and joining CEED,” she said.
Lemley is interning with the New Albany Main Street Association and has learned the importance of community and economic development. She is working to develop frameworks for community development initiatives and nonprofit organizations.
“I have had the opportunity to contribute to different projects that support New Albany and Union County,” she said. “This allows me to gain experience in strategic planning, organizational development and community engagement.”
Participating in the CEED program has already influenced her future.
“This internship has already taught me so much about the role that strong organizations play in thriving communities,” she said. “As a result, I am seriously considering a future career in community development and economic revitalization.”
Avery Johnston, a junior public policy leadership and integrated marketing communication major from Madison, is interning close to home in the business and services division of the Mississippi secretary of state’s office.
This division helps people navigate the legal requirements of starting a business in Mississippi, she said. It also maintains documents and records of companies.
Johnston is responsible for digitizing documents for uploading to the office’s website for public access.
“Although this project demands attention to detail, I enjoy it and know that my work is helping the office as a whole and taking loads off of others in the office,” she said.
“This internship has provided valuable knowledge about government operations and public service. It has definitely helped me gain knowledge and experience that will be useful throughout my life.”
Kirsten Willis, a sophomore in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College majoring in public health on the pre-medicine track, is interning in Washington, D.C., with the National Rural Health Association. She plans to continue her internship remotely once she returns to her hometown of Saltillo.
Her goal is to take what she learns with her into the medical field. Specifically, her work is focused on the Rural Health Transformation Program, which is designed to strengthen and improve health care systems in rural communities.
Willis wanted to participate in the internship because she worked at an uninsured health clinic, where she began to realize the challenges affecting patients could not be solved within the walls of a clinic.
“Health is about much more than the absence of disease,” Willis said. “Education, housing, transportation, economic opportunity, access to nutritious food and strong community support systems can all influence a person’s health and well-being.
“The more I learned, the more interested I became in understanding how communities can address these challenges and create environments where people can thrive.”
Her previous work in the health clinic gave her a foundation for the work she does with the NRHA.
“The patients I worked with gave a face to challenges I had previously only read about,” she said. “While working in the clinic showed me how to care for patients, it also made me want to advocate for them.
“I found myself asking why so many people were facing the same barriers and what could be done to change it.”
Enter her internship.
“I have had the opportunity to research and analyze how states are approaching challenges such as health care access, workforce shortages, infrastructure and care delivery in rural areas.”
From this, she has gained behind-the-scenes perspective on policies and programs that influence health care access in rural America.
“It has been incredibly meaningful to advocate for the kinds of communities and patients I have worked with in Mississippi and to contribute to conversations focused on improving health care access in rural areas,” she said.
“One of the most valuable things I have gained from this experience is a broader perspective on health care. It has shown me that improving health outcomes requires more than treating illness, but also understanding the systems that shape access to care and advocating for meaningful change.”
By Marisa C. Atkinson
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