September 06, 2011
West Chester University of Pennsylvania student attends
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg – Melissa Kearney of Linwood is working for state Sen. Jay Costa of Allegheny County
as part of a 15-week internship sponsored by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher
Education (PASSHE).
Kearney is a senior political science major at West Chester 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.
Kearney, the daughter of Margaret Liberato, is a 2003 graduate of Padua Academy. She
and the other students participating in the program will attend several academic seminars
during their fall 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.