Robert and Yvonne Koob Fund for Student Community Engagement Recipients
The Robert and Yvonne Koob Fund for Student Community Engagement is an endowment supporting students who are completing internships in positions of service in Iowa. Awards up to $2,000 (undergraduate students) and up to $3,000 (graduate students) will be given and approximately $10,000 total is awarded annually.
To date, 100 UNI students have received Koob funding for nonprofit internships in Iowa. Koob interns have partnered with many Cedar Valley organizations, such as: the Waterloo Commission on Human Rights, the Grout Museum, Junior Achievement and several of the Cedar Valley’s schools and hospitals. The impact of Koob internships extends across Iowa, stretching as far east as Scott County and as far west as Montgomery County.
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Leandra Diersen - Central Rivers Area Education Agency
Leandrea Diersen
Spring 2021
I was granted with the opportunity to enhance my social work skills on a more systems based level. I achieved the goal of starting up a wellbeing newsletter in the Dike-New Hartford school district. This newsletter provides teachers with strategies to promote mental health wellbeing in their classrooms and in their own lives.
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Elise Bovy - House of Hope
Elise Bovy
Summer 2020
During my time at House of Hope, I helped start up a new wellness program which enhanced the wellness education aspect at House of Hope. I created forms, resources, and spreadsheets.
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Emily Neumann - Iowa Legal Aid
Emily Neumann
Summer 2020
Iowa Legal Aid’s Waterloo Regional Office has offered a pro se clinic in the past, but has lacked anyone to head the project in recent times. Through my internship, the office is now able to offers these services to individuals once it again.
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Calli Recker - Riverview Center
Calli Recker
Summer 2020
I attended many webinars and trainings to further my education and skills for working w/different populations through multiple experiences and meetings with different positions/roles at Riverview. I was able to observe & execute services to clients, which included legal, medial, & general advocacy, peer counseling, referrals, and basic needs assistance.
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Aweke Tadesse - EMBARC
Aweke Tadesse
Summer 2020
My accomplishment can be summarized in three different activity areas. First, involving with COVID-19 patents as a front line resource mobilizer team. I had an opportunity to work with RISE staff at Sioux City and access connections with a patient from the Ethiopian immigrant community who don't speak English. My role was to provide information as to how the patent can get health, housing, and food assistance. I have contacted different EMBARC partner agencies and service providers and provided information to the client. Second, I have developed a cultural presentation about Ethiopian and Ethiopian immigrants living in the US and submitted Aweke Tadesse - EMBARC to the agency. Third, working with the UNI Violence Prevention Center and analyzing primary and secondary data (survey) on bullying and gender-based violence in the school context. I have analyzed four secondary data (research articles) and primary qualitative data. The thematic analysis was presented to the program advisors/leaders and I also put the information together in logical-model format. Under six different Themes, logical teaching templates or models were created in PowerPoint and word format and shared with the program advisors to strengthen the Mentor Violence Prevention (MVP) training manual.
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Emmaline Gilbaugh - Cedar Valley Angels
Emmaline Gilbaugh
Spring 2020
As an intern, I wrote three grants, helped plan and carry out many events, formed relationships with board members, created and published content for social media, and monitored and edited website.
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Steffany Kroeger - Irving Elementary School
Steffany Kroeger
Spring 2020
Accomplishments includes multiple MB Tools Trainings at Irving, Becker, and Kingsley. Follow up mindfulness sessions during professional development days. Modeled and targeted mindfulness & movement sessions for each grade level at Irving. Bonus: Offered MB Tools & mindfulness training for UNI 1st year art students.
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Aspen Olsen - Highland Elementary School
Aspen Olsen
Spring 2020
Unfortunately, my time at Highland Elementary was cut abruptly short due to school closures as a result of COVID-19 . However, I was able to work with a caseload of an average of 10 students. I provided one-on-one therapist sessions once weekly. I worked with them to process trauma, learn how to self-regulate their emotions, work on alleviating problematic behaviors in the classroom, and/or develop coping skills and strategies. More specifically in the sessions, we completed Theraplay Exercises, Sand Tray Therapy, played Emotion Uno, made Stress Balls, etc. I helped determine the needs of the students and helped connect them and their families to resources. I also educated on trauma-informed practices as appropriate. I also planned a community resource fair. We were unable to host the fair due to COVID-19, but I did all the work and made the connections. I also completed the application for a grant for the fair. I am hoping the school uses my materials to host the fair next year. Also, during my internship, I had some major life changes, unexpectedly. I became a mother overnight to my siblings and nieces due to an immediate removal order by DHS/the courts. It was challenging juggling school, court Aspen Olsen - Highland Elementary School dates, dhs involvement, internship, college, state boards, etc. However, I succeeded in the face of adversity and have been embracing the lifestyle change.
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Leah Schmitz - Waterloo Center for the Arts
Leah Schmitz
Spring 2020
During this internship, I helped create the signage and the space for an exhibit that will be up in the Phelps Youth Pavilion for the next two years. We created a fun and engaging space for children to learn about dinosaurs and the history surrounding them.
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Emma Alman - Allen Women's Health
Emma Alman
Summer 2019
Throughout my time at Allen Women’s Health, I was able to get a taste of all of the different types of work the staff do here. I was able to give 11 different presentations throughout my 12-week internship to all different populations: middle-schoolers, high-schoolers, and adults. For each of the presentations, I prepared by researching the topic and creating an outline to follow throughout the presentation. I was also able to coordinate a group of two different volunteers to help create bracelets for promotional items for Together Emma Alman - Allen Women's Health for Youth, a program through Allen Women’s Health. For Young Parents Together, a program through Allen Women’s Health, I created promotional items such as newsletters, Facebook posts, and new calendars for the 2019/2020 fiscal year. I also updated our mental health resources by contacting 16 agencies in Black Hawk County and surrounding areas to get correct information about their organization. Another project I was able to work on is the first Annual Report for Success Street, which are school-based health clinics in Waterloo, Iowa. Finally, one of my biggest continual projects was researching different awareness days and creating social media posts and newsletter articles for each of the days/months selected. I created 24 different social media posts and 24 different newsletter articles to help educate the community on different health topics, as well as educate the community on how Allen Hospital/Allen Women’s Health can help people with each of these health topics. The newsletters will be sent out in the Allen Newsletter as well as sent out to corporate newsletters in the community.
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Andy Hagensick - Iowa Legal Aid
Andy Hagensick
Spring 2019
My work generally resulted in capacity building. I created a standardized assessment for all legal aid offices to use during initial meetings. I also drafted letters and other legal documents.
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Delynn Plante - Self-Help International
Delynn Plante
Spring 2019
I helped to increase Self-Help’s branding and create more visually appealing materials that the organization uses. I helped to deliver their mission statement in a visual way, in which supporters and donors respond better to.
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McKenzie Greve - Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa
McKenzie Greve
Summer 2018
I was able to plan out the rest of the match activities for the year. I also have helped contribute to making a few reference calls and a few interviews.
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Cally Hamm - Waverly Shell Rock Area United Way
Cally Hamm
Summer 2018
During my internship, I planned enrichment activities and recruited volunteers to lead those activities for our Free Summer Lunch Program, including an end of year celebratory pool/ pizza party . I created a social media plan to get engaged with more of our social media audience. I updated our “Wish Book” for our partnering agency wants. I updated and revised our selfreferral youth assistance directory. Finally, I was also able to assist with marketing our event of Christmas in July, collecting and distributing over 1,500 personal hygiene products throughout our community.
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Aspen Olsen - Iowa Legal Aid
Aspen Olsen
Summer 2018
I completed my Koob scholarship project, which was to create a system to more easily track reunification, re-entry, and re-abuse statistics for children who are part of the Parent Representation Project. I did this by creating an excel spreadsheet and collected data on the names of the clients, the date the case was opened and then closed, the date of the removal of the children if they were removed from parent custody, if the children were returned to the parent custody, how long they were removed from parent custody, if the children re-entered the child welfare system and if re-abuse occurred, and analyzed the various outcomes of the cases.
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Sidney Adam - Classic Upward Bound
Sidney Adam
Spring 2018
I worked in the Waterloo High Schools as a resource to students for academics and personal development. I also created an assessment tool which I used to evaluate the tutorial program. With this I generated solutions that I shared at a tutorial staff meeting and put into action. I interviewed potential students wanting to get into the program.
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Parker Aden - Pocahontas Chamber of Commerce
Parker Aden
Spring 2018
During my internship, I was able to organize 10+ events for the town. From music on Main Street every other week (Art In The Park) to special gaming events in the local theatre (PlayStation E3 Experience - in partnership with PlayStation, Mario Kart Tournament) to even free fitness classes for the community to try (POUND, Jazzercise), there was a wide variety of options (even more than what is listed) for everyone. In addition, a new Facebook Live series was created on the Chamber’s Facebook Page (Chamber Chat). Some behinds the scenes work was done as well in helping plan the town’s annual summer celebration to attending Chamber meetings and organizing files/lists/banners.
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Brian Jesteadt - National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum
Brian Jesteadt
Spring 2018
I assisted in the move of the Dan Gable Museum’s collections down into basement storage prerenovation, processed some donated artifacts, and did extensive updates to the museum’s internal database.
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Gabriella Ruggiero - Iowa Legal Aid
Gabriella Ruggiero
Spring 2018
I was able to help plan, coordinate, and execute our Expungement and Employment Barriers Clinic, which helped 42 people review their criminal records, look for possible expungements, and if applicable, start the expungement process. I also did various other small tasks for the attorneys in the office as well as some clerical work.
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Abigail Cornett - Northeast Iowa Food Bank
Abigail Cornett
Summer 2017
My internship allowed me to see a true working nonprofit in action. Understanding the budgets allowed to marketing was interesting. I also worked with businesses in the Cedar Valley on a few occasions for photo opportunities which provided me experience on the more business side of it all. I created website content and also created and implemented a social media ambassador program. This was the largest project here and allowed me to work with more businesses and create a better resume.
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Karlene Izer - Riverview Center
Karlene Izer
Summer 2017
My accomplishments included:
+Helped run the Evening of Light Fundraiser event - we raised $30,000+!
+Created a complete list of school counselors in counties for our services.
+Organized supervisors filing system, yearly - Lists, personnel folders, & office.
+Attended weekly/monthly staff meetings.
+Started ideas/organized schedule of a support group to be conducted by Riverview.
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Matthew Miller - Hancock County Historical Society
Matthew Miller
Summer 2017
I was able to complete several tasks during my internship, including updating the organization’s catalog of historical artifacts, updating their tour script, and providing tours to visitors. The largest task I completed was a book of photographs and stories of the communities in Hancock County.
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Leanna Mysak - Black Hawk County Attorney's Office
Leanna Mysak
Summer 2017
During my internship, I accomplished many goals that I had. The first goal was to better understand the life of a criminal prosecutor. I sat in on many trials and was able to learn the process of convicting a criminal. By the end of the internship, I was able to understand much more legal terminology than when I started. I also accomplished a few projects in the office that made the prosecutors’ jobs a bit easier. One of those projects was to aid in transferring paper case files to electronic files. The second project was to look up dispositions of domestic abuse cases from January 1st, 2017 through June 30, 2017. The dispositions are needed because they will be attached to a domestic abuse grant proposal. The last thing that I accomplished during my internship was coming to the decision that law is the right career path for me. Dealing with criminal cases on a daily basis never got old and I was always excited to learn whatever I could be taught.
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Kristin Sauerbrei - Friends of the Family - Waterloo Office
Kristin Sauerbrei
Summer 2017
I accomplished researching and forming a human trafficking coalition for the Cedar Valley community. I also accomplished growing my professional and social work skills by engaging in both the administration aspect and directly working one-on-one with survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.
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Maria Capul - Black Hawk County Health Department
Maria Capul
Spring 2017
I accomplished the following:
-Presented and designed health presentations for Hispanic populations in topics, like breast cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer and nutrition.
-Redesigned “Care for Yourself Program” brochure to be more health literate
-Enrolled Hispanic people for cancer screening programs -Helped Spanish community navigate their environment both health and non health needs.
-Shadowed and assisted the Nutrition department and the Refugee clinic
-Translated enrollment forms for the STD Clinic
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Morgan Holzer - UNI's Center for Violence Prevention
Morgan Holzer
Spring 2017
I really found my passion in prevention. I also feel like I have more confidence in myself professionally. I am thankful for the opportunities that I was given and the people that I met through my internship which got me to where I am now. I accomplished getting into graduate school while also networking with different school counselor’s during my time at UNI’s CVP.
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Vanessa McNeal - Together for Youth
Vanessa McNeal
Spring 2017
I had the opportunity to advance my facilitation, and motivational interviewing skills on a micro level. I led numerous health education sessions, led the Great American Condom Campaign, and this project.
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Brenna Oberbreckling - Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley
Brenna Oberbreckling
Spring 2017
I accomplished my set goal for planning and implementing the 2017 Mayors’ Volunteer and Top Teen Awards. The event took place on Tuesday, April 12, and was a success. I also was highly involved in the Volunteer Center’s annual fundraiser, Appetite for Service.
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Haley Hasenstein - Black Hawk County Public Defender's Office
Haley Hasenstein
Summer 2016
I was able to collect data regarding the demographics of the arrestees and prisoners in Iowa’s major cities. This data will be used to attempt to reform Black Hawk County’s criminal justice system, as it will point to the overrepresentation of Black Hawk County residents in the Iowa Prison Systems.
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Zijad Mahmutovic - Grout Museum District
Zijad Mahmutovic
Summer 2016
I was able to provide the Grout Museum with oral histories of Bosnian Immigrants. These interviews are crucial for the Museum, and their future plans for an inclusive Bosnian exhibit, one that will show the process of immigration to the United States and the Waterloo, Iowa area.
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Chad Smith - Waterloo Schools Foundation
Chad Smith
Summer 2016
This internship with the Waterloo Schools Foundation has allowed me to learn how to administer tasks within a database in order to practice financial management. For the first time, I was able to facilitate interviews for a strategic plan assessment. Also, I was able to observe, participate, and gain greater understanding of nonprofit board meetings and committees.
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Jacilyn Valero - Cedar Falls Historical Society
Jacilyn Valero
Summer 2016
During this past summer’s internship, I helped staff the Cedar Falls Historical Society’s historic buildings, primarily the Ice House. In addition, I helped Diane Schupbach (Education Coordinator) plan and execute programs for various groups and the general public. This included a special “Big Hero 6” event in conjunction with Movies Under the Moon at Overman Park. Finally, I began the process of organizing and researching the Historical Society’s Schoolhouse travelling trunk.
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Melanie Bressler - Waterloo Center for the Arts
Melanie Bressler
Spring 2016
During my internship I accomplished:
Independently working with clients for room rentals
Performed research for a venue comparison
Created a Wedding Guide, Waterloo Boat House Guide and Facilities Guide
Attended biweekly Fiesta! planning meetings
Secured performers, vendors and entertainment for Fiesta!
Coordinated music with the DJ and performers
Secured flatbeds and hotel rooms for the bands
Worked hand-in-hand with Carrie accomplishing daily tasks
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Rebecca Dirks - Grout Museum District
Rebecca Dirks
Spring 2016
I accomplished more than I ever would imagine. I organized majority of the annual event Dancing for the Veterans. Along with planning an event, I also was able to explore all departments of the Grout District (marketing, rentals, volunteer, etc.). I attended many committee meetings and networked a lot with many of the committee members, creating life long contacts in the future.
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Sarah Hanson - R. J. McElroy Trust
Sarah Hanson
Spring 2016
During my internship, I planned the Gold Star Teacher Award program from start to finish. I received 1,279 nominations for 574 teachers, with 150 applicants. We narrowed it down to 10 Gold Star Teachers in 2016. The final award ceremony will be held on May 24, 2016 at Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. In addition, I created a social media plan for the R.J. McElroy Trust.
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Sarah Stephany - Orchard Hill Church
Sarah Stephany
Spring 2016
During my internship, I was the project manager for the Child Sponsorship Wall at Orchard Hill Church’s Cedar Falls Campus. This wall display was designed and built by myself and the help of various Orchard Hill staff. The purpose of the wall was to promote child sponsorship at Orchard’s two international nonprofit partners: United Christians International in Caiman, Haiti, and at Food for the Hungry in Mozambique, Africa. There were a total of 25 new sponsorships because of the Child Sponsorship Wall, and there were countless visitors and conversations at the wall about Child Sponsorship that helped plant the seed of helping others in a way that is God-centered, and teaches that we aren’t the ones doing the “saving,” but we are merely joining in with the work God is already doing in Mozambique and Haiti.
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Kelsey Umthun - Alternatives Pregnancy Center
Kelsey Umthun
Spring 2016
I organized and planned the Spring Fundraiser “Laugh for Life” banquet that took place on April 28, 2016.
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Katelyn Blake - Grout Museum District
Katelyn Blake
Summer 2015
During my internship I planned and implemented my own Camp as part of the Grout’s Summer Camp Programs. I also attended a STEM festival at the Black Hawk County Fair. I was able to explore science laws in public demonstrations I lead.
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Courtney DeRocher - YWCA of Black Hawk County
Courtney DeRocher
Spring 2015
My internship at the YWCA provided a full range of opportunities for me to be a part of. I was able to plan and facilitate multiple programs such as Young Parents Together, Parents Achieving Success with Support, and Wize Girlz. I was also able to plan a conference for over 130 middle school girls in the community called the Young Women on the Move conference. This conference was my biggest time commitment while at my internship and I was able to learn a lot from it.
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Stanley Ebede - Boys and Girls Club of the Cedar Valley
Stanley Ebede
Spring 2015
I was assigned to conduct the Passport to Manhood program for 10-12 years old boys. The program was a success because I conducted and completed the 14 sessions of the Passport to Manhood program.
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Cory Gregg - Grout Museum District
Cory Gregg
Spring 2015
I was able to inventory and help improve the historical traveling trunks for kids. Also, I was able to take the information from the Cedar Falls and Waterloo Bus Tours given to school kids, and turn that into two short virtual tours using Google Earth that can be accessed on any computer.
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Emily Kriegel - Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley
Emily Kriegel
Spring 2015
The main projects I helped plan and execute Appetite for Service, 20th Anniversary celebration of the Volunteer Center, and the Mayors’ Volunteer Awards. I also worked on different tasks as assigned. Additional tasks included: press releases, updated volunteer data base information, spreadsheet development, and marketing and design work.
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Emily Seehusen - Grout Museum District
Emily Seehusen
Spring 2015
I worked with the Education and Programing Department of the Imaginarium throughout the entirety of my internship. I assisted with the coordination of the Waterloo Middle School Science Fair and the Nation History Day Competition. I shadowed many Grout Museum district employees and had the opportunity to assist with tasks such as program presentations, program development, and I helped facilitate a wide variety of monthly children’s activities and implemented marketing strategies to promote new museum programs.
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Michelle Wilke - Center for Violence Prevention
Michelle Wilke
Spring 2015
As a student intern in the beginning my focus was to assist in the area of Group Travel and how to get more diverse groups into the museum, especially Veterans from the community and surrounding areas. As things started flowing together while working, I learned the basics of how the Grout Museum controls their group travel, and how they market themselves to certain populations and locations around the Midwest. Another big portion of group travel is how to get groups from the community to the museum, to which I focused on more so. Learning ways to entice community visitors and residents through marketing and programming is not easy, but I learned how to get out there and accomplish it. I got groups such as the Professional Women of Waterloo, Cedar Valley Historical Society, and veteran groups in the area to come and visit, which was a very rewarding feeling. It was so exciting to see all kinds of people who had some similar connection to the community through their military experience or if they had just been living in Waterloo their whole life come and visit the museum for the first time. I was also trained on the different group rates to offer and the logistics of how to book a tour. Another job I accomplished was taking over the Events and Sales Coordinator position at the museum. Any rentals will connect with that person and plan their special event For example; any conference, meeting, social gathering etc. are some of the different types of events that go on at GMD that I had to take care of during my internship. Accomplishing the duteous ways of the event coordination side of things helped me get used to the Do’s and Don’ts of the job. It was exciting to learn something different than group travel, and it helped to understand what all the GMD is capable of doing for the community as a whole. I learned a lot at this internship, and accomplished more than I was thinking I would in the beginning; because of that I have grown professionally and feel much more confident going out in the business world to find a career.
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Margaret Nervig - Salisbury House & Gardens
Margaret Nervig
Summer 2014
During my internship I worked primarily on three different projects: object files reconciliation, photograph inventory, and library inventory. I worked to move object files and ensure that object files in the computer program PastPerfect had the same information as the physical object files. The photograph inventory I completed involved taking photos and identifying all of the objects currently on display in the house. This keeps a better record of where objects are as well as providing helpful information for tour guides and visitors on self-guided tours. The library inventory project will provide a record of where books are located, ensuring that the library will one day be easily accessible to researchers and scholars.
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Riley Rozendaal - Jasper County Sheriff's Office
Riley Rozendaal
Summer 2014
I assisted in the planning and execution of an event at the Jasper County Fair which was a public safety day event for the county. I created the promotional RSVP that was sent to all the departments in the county. I also assisted in the ordering of DNA kits to help identify children that have been abducted, run away from home, or gotten lost. I helped law enforcement on various calls including clearing crash scenes and photographing what had happened. This took place during the summer including over two hundred hours of ride alongs on various shifts. This helped me gain a greater understanding of both the job and what is needed to keep the community safe and secure.
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Amanda Marine - Covenant Medical Center
Amanda Marine
Spring 2008
I learned much more about aphasia, dysphagia, cognitive disorders, and apraxia of speech. In addition, I learned how to fill out multiple types of paperwork, dictate reports, and bill patients. I was able to conduct video fluoroscopic swallowing evaluations, educate the patients on what I observed, and dictate the reports. I applied what I had learned in grad school to real life situations and also was required to learn much more because each patient is so unique. My Amanda Marine - Covenant Medical Center professors did a great job teaching me, but my internship is what really prepared me for my career.
