Monday, February 26, 2018

DICE Intern Elizabeth Coules Guest Post


My Internship at the CIE
I have enjoyed working as a grant writer intern at the Center of Inclusive Excellence (CIE). Through the guidance of Millie Gonzalez and Chon’tel Washington I have been given assignments introducing me to the AACU guiding principle of Inclusive Excellence. My first assignment was to research and write a report on the multicultural centers in several Massachusetts state universities including the FSU sister universities.  Research on these centers educated me about the many diversity workshops and programs available to state university students.  Comparing these multicultural websites also provided information on another assignment to review the CIE website and make recommendations.
Another assignment in my internship has been to research a grant to fund a coordinator for a cohort-based mentoring program at CIE for underserved and under-represented college students. The grants I researched included the AmeriCorps VISTA federal grant and Open Door grant from The Boston Foundation. I also spoke with the Associate Director of a similar four year mentoring program at UMass Lowell to gather more information. Community partnerships and engagement are an important part of grant writing and funding. Even with grant funding, financial assistance and in-kind donations from local businesses and non-profits are necessary to provide additional support for FSU programs.

Meeting with grant writer, Patti Bossange and then with Executive Director, Eric Gustafson, of Development and Alumni Relations have given me insight into the possibilities of different career paths that exist within the field of grant writing. Working with Kim Dexter, HR Officer of Equal Opportunity to write a draft for the Equality Fund grant for an LGBTQ event has also been a beneficial experience. The principle of Inclusive Excellence has provided a framework to understand and learn how universities and colleges integrate diversity, equity, social justice, and educational quality efforts into their missions and institutional operations. In all, this internship has given me the valuable opportunity and challenge to use my technical writing and research skills as a bridge into grant writing. 





Monday, February 12, 2018

Meet DICE Intern: Elizabeth Coules


Elizabeth Coules is currently serving as a grant writing intern at the Center for Inclusive Excellence at Framingham State. Previous work experience has included technical writing, market research, promoting Bedford, MA Chamber of Commerce events, and teaching English. Elizabeth holds a BA degree in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and a teaching certificate in secondary education.