Community Resources

We’d like to think the greater Ripon community provides the perfect incubator for Ripon College students who are looking to gain real world skills in leadership, service and entrepreneurship. Ripon College provides the following opportunities for community organizations to engage Ripon students in their mission.

Academic Internships

As students progress through their learning at Ripon College they are encouraged to participate in an academic internship. These internships are typically offered to students with junior or senior standing with students earning between one and four credits. Academic internships are usually project or role-based and provide work assistance to the community partners free of charge for one semester or for one summer. Students must be supervised by a faculty member and an on-site community partner employee. To find out more, please contact Sara Hathaway.

Class Projects

Ripon College encourages and supports faculty in creating class projects and/or service learning opportunities as part of the curriculum. Students typically work in groups free of charge for a short period of time to accomplish specific goals for both the community partner and the faculty member. Student must be supervised by a faculty member and an on-site community partner employee. To find out more or to host a group of students at your organization contact Faculty Development Coordinator Becky Matzke.

Community Internships

Ripon College students are encouraged to seek out experiences in the community on their own with the support from the Center. There are many students from many disciplines who are looking for a wide variety of experiences in for profit, not-for-profit and public/governmental organizations. These internships are typically project or role-based, can be variable in length and almost all of the oversight is provided by the community partner. Students and the community partner work together to accomplish tasks while both benefiting from the partnership. To find out more or to host an intern please contact Sara Hathaway.

Creative Enterprise Consultants

The Creative Enterprise Consultants (CEC) provide services to existing businesses, entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, and not-for-profits. Ripon College has a tradition of student-community partnerships. By supporting students, the grant enables the CEC to serve clients year round. Services include business planning, feasibility studies, marketing plans, financials and budgets, and market research – anything to assist with the business development process. CEC student consultants are supervised by Ripon College faculty in appropriate disciplines including business, economics, communications, mathematics and statistics. Highly experienced professional community mentors also help to insure quality services. Services are affordable because fees include only the amount necessary to support the student workers. For more information on working with Ripon students, contact faculty in Business Management.