Three College of Arts & Letters students recently received scholarships from Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) as part of its unpaid internship scholarship competition. The students – Briana Beeman, Jason Dernay, and Jett Hampton – were awarded funds after submitting applications detailing the unpaid work they do for organizations.

Briana Beeman

Briana Beeman is a senior majoring in Theatre. This summer, she will use the $1,000 MSUFCU scholarship award to work as a Dramaturgy/Education Intern at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, New Jersey.

As a Dramaturgy/Education Intern, Beeman will primarily research and compile study guide-like materials for the acting apprentices and teen summer camp classes. She also will perform technical or house management tasks in the theatre.

“The MSUFCU Award will cover the majority of my living expenses for my unpaid internship,” Beeman said. “Without it, I’m not sure I would be able to take advantage of this opportunity that will support my future plans of wanting to attend graduate school for Theatre Studies.”

Jason Dernay​​​​​​​

Jason Dernay is a junior majoring in Theatre. This summer, he will use the $500 MSUFCU scholarship to work with the director of the Village Theater Cherry Hill in Canton, Michigan, on developing a customer development plan as well as contracting or volunteer coordination.

“The MSUFCU scholarship is incredibly helpful to me as it will allow me to work in a program I wanted to be involved in as well as a program targeted to my major without sacrificing my labor,” Dernay said.

Jett Hampton

Jett Hampton is a senior majoring in Linguistics. This summer, he will use the $500 from MSUFCU to work as an intern at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn, Michigan.

The AANM, which opened in 2005, is the first and only museum in the United States devoted to Arab American history and culture. The museum aims to dispel misconceptions about Arab Americans and other minorities by bringing the voices and faces of Arab Americans to mainstream audiences.