Harrisburg – Kulsum Soonasra of Allentown is working for the Pennsylvania Association of Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities (PAR) as part of a 15-week internship sponsored by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE).

Soonasra is a junior secondary education/English major at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. She is one of 14 students participating in The Harrisburg Internship Semester (THIS) program, which provides students the opportunity to work in all areas of state government while earning a full semester’s worth of credits. THIS invites students from each of the 14 PASSHE universities to participate.

Soonasra, the daughter of Liaquatali and Shamim Soonasra, is a graduate of Parkland High School. She and the other students participating in the program will attend several academic seminars during their spring semester internship. Each of the students also will complete an individualized research project as part of the program’s requirements.

More than 500 students from PASSHE universities have participated in THIS since the program began in 1989, each gaining valuable insight into the workings of state government at the policy-making level. Interns have worked with dozens of state agencies, as well as in the offices of the governor, the speaker of the House of Representatives and the attorney general.

PASSHE students interested in participating in THIS in a future semester may obtain information on the program by contacting their individual campus coordinator or their university’s cooperative or internship office, or by calling the Dixon University Center at (717) 720-4089. More information on the program also is available at: www.passhe.edu/this.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with nearly 120,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Approximately 500,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg.