Editor's note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave's On the Ground Battle Creek series.
 
BATTLE CREEK, MI — A deep dive into uncharted waters through an internship this summer in Battle Creek reinforced Isabel Calderon’s decision to continue to move forward at Grand Valley State University with a focus on education.
 
A 2023 graduate of Battle Creek Central High School, she is among 15 students who completed internships this summer through the GVSU/BCPS (Battle Creek Public Schools) Pipeline Scholarship Program. They are among 43 student scholars in the Pipeline Program which began in 2020.
 
Isabel CalderoneFor Calderon, the internship offered one more opportunity to make the most of her time at GVSU, something the first-generation college student doesn’t take for granted.
 
From June 23 to July 26, she taught fifth-graders at Valley View Elementary during a summer school program through the 21st Century Afterschool Program. It was, she says, “an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to run a classroom where my ideas for lesson plans and activities were used.”
 
One thing that helped her a lot was gaining the confidence to work with an older age group of students.
 
“I was a little intimidated because these were a little older kids than what I’m used to working with,” Calderon says. “It encouraged me to raise my voice and put a little backbone in me and lay some boundaries with them. I know now that if I could handle a group of fifth-graders, I could handle any age below that.”
 
Ultimately, she’d like to teach third grade because "it’s a good middle grade where students are older but not old enough, in a time of a lot of growth.”
 
Among her long-term plans is to do an internship each year until she graduates in May 2027.
 
“I want to take advantage of all of the opportunities given to me and pass that on to my parents because they sacrificed so much for me,” she says.

Pipeline Program supports first-generation college students
 
About 98 percent of the Pipeline’s student scholars are the first in their families to attend college, says Estefany Paniagua-Pardo, Career Navigator for W.K. Kellogg/BCPS/GVSU Education Programs, which manages the Pipeline Program. To ease the transition for these students she and fellow staff members meet with them every week to see how they’re assimilating to life on campus. Students also can participate in monthly programs focused on areas like academic preparedness, overall wellness, and connecting with their on-campus communities.
 
Calderon, now a sophomore and the youngest in her family, says she was excited about the opportunity to have some independence and make her own decisions but scared about the possibility of failure and letting her parents down. When she needed advice, she sought out her older sister who attends a community college. When she needed to feel a sense of belonging, she turned to on-campus groups and organizations.
 
“There was culture shock because there is so much diversity here,” Calderon says of GVSU. “I found a close friend group almost immediately. I still get homesick, but joining the Latino Student Union, a Mexican dance group made me feel like there was a sense of community.”
 
The internship component is mandatory for Pipeline scholars, 27 of whom have already completed this requirement which is also an essential piece of the holistic wraparound approach taken with these students.

Internships create networks and open doors
 
“We realize that we’re not creating access for students when we’re not equipping them with the skills and tools post-graduation,” Paniagua-Pardo says. “We are supporting their academic and individual well-being and getting them equipped. The internships are creating networks for them. Our goal is yes, for them to get a degree but also a job.”
 
Estefany Paniagua-PardoThe internship experience has already paid off for two students who were enrolled in the Pipeline Program when it began four years ago and have graduated. One of them, who interned with the Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce, was hired in October by Battle Creek Unlimited as an Events and Program Coordinator. The second student is attending graduate school at Eastern Michigan University.
 
In addition to the Chamber of Commerce and BCPS, students also had internships at Bronson Healthcare, Duncan Aviation, Calhoun County Visitors Bureau, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Starr Commonwealth, NovaCare, and the Battle Creek Police Department. Paniagua-Pardo says most of the companies offer compensation, but nonprofits don’t have this capacity so they are paid through the Pipeline program scholarship.
 
Through these internships, BCPS in particular hopes that these students once graduated will return to Battle Creek and re-invest in the community.
 
“The GVSU/BCPS Pipeline Scholarship Program provided full scholarships to Battle Creek Central High School (BCCHS) graduates who intend to pursue a bachelor’s degree in either Nursing, Health Professions, Teacher Education, or STEM, and encouraged recipients to pursue experiential learning and career opportunities in Battle Creek,” says information on its website.
 
“We are already starting to see the fruits of the scholarship and students re-engaging back with their hometown,” Paniagua-Pardo says.
 
Calderon says she wants a teaching career in Battle Creek.
 
“I want to come back to Batlle Creek. A major factor is because of family. I  wouldn’t want to move anywhere further. I feel like I’ve already made so many connections with BCPS.”
 
Added Advantage Bearcats
 
The 46 Pipeline scholars will be the last group of students in the program which is being sunset with the advent of the Bearcat Advantage in 2023, Paniagua-Pardo says.
 
The Bearcat Advantage was created to increase access to higher education for more students. The Pipeline scholarship program could accommodate no more than 18 students at any given time because of funding levels. These students would apply to the Pipeline program and a committee would determine their eligibility. Through the Bearcat Advantage, students’ eligibility is weighted on how many years they’ve been students in BCPS, Paniagua-Pardo says.
 
While the internships are mandatory for Pipeline scholars, they are not for Bearcat Advantage students.
 
Surveys were sent to Bearcat students strongly encouraging them to do an internship, Paniagua-Pardo says.

“Currently we are working with 19 total Bearcat Advantage students and six of them have indicated that they are interested in doing an internship this coming summer and the others are still thinking about it,” she says.
 
She and her fellow staff members have a collaboration with GVSU’s Battle Creek Regional Outreach Center which has been working since 2020 with BCPS Pipeline scholars. This work has been broadened to support the Bearcat Advantage students.
 
The internship opportunities are among the resources offered through the Regional Outreach Center. Paniagua-Pardo says these real-world experiences level the playing field when it comes to preparing students professionally and equipping them with the tools to thrive.
 
Calderon says her advice to incoming Bearcats is, “With any internship that comes their way, they should take it. Anything you can do to gain experience and interest is something beneficial on resumes for future employment. Take the opportunities that interest you the most and benefit from them.”