Institute for Women's Leadership - Advancing Women's Leadership for a Just World

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Community Leadership, Action and Service Project (CLASP)

CLASP is a summer service-learning program for women students at Rutgers University.

CLASP is a unique hands-on learning experience that offers women students:

A five-week internship.
A weekly social justice seminar.
A stipend of $500.
The opportunity to earn 3 course credits.

THE PROGRAM
The Community Leadership, Action and Service Project (CLASP) is a service-learning program that offers women students at Rutgers first hand experience in a community-based organization in Central New Jersey. Internship placements focus on a variety of social issues, including but not limited to youth empowerment, arts education, public health, literacy, domestic violence prevention and food security. Students gain valuable work experience while learning how organizations are addressing community challenges associated with social, economic and political inequality. In addition to weekly internship commitments, students attend a weekly seminar to sharpen their critical thinking and leadership skills. CLASP is not simply a summer internship; students critically engage with issues such as immigration, social justice, and poverty and reflect on ways to create social change.

SEMINAR
Throughout the duration of CLASP, students attend a weekly seminar on Thursdays (lunch is provided). The seminar provides interns the time and space to reflect on their internship experiences individually and as a group; participants are encouraged to be self-reflexive and to analyze their experiences and the possibility of social change. The seminar is designed to explore the broader social, economic and political context of the issues addressed by their organization, with weekly topics ranging from poverty to social justice. Students are responsible for weekly readings as well as keeping a journal to record their reflections. The seminar format is a mix of discussions, films, workshops and activities.

COURSE CREDIT
Students may receive 3 course credits for participating in CLASP by completing additional assignments, including a final 8-page paper. Students’ grades will be determined based on their participation in the seminar (including completion of journaling assignments), an evaluation by their Internship Site Supervisor and the final paper.