Monroe-Brown Internship Program

Open to in-coming juniors, seniors, and graduate students at Kalamazoo College and Western Michigan University and students going into their second year at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the Monroe-Brown Internship Program provides high quality internships, valuable networking opportunities and at least $5,500 in scholarship funding plus hourly wages to all student participants.

Students apply for internships directly through the participating companies, which will be announced each January. The employers will work independently to hire their interns, using criteria and hiring methods they choose. Based upon availability, each participating company may have up to two intership posititions per program year.

Once the intern is hired, he or she will work for the company for a minimum of 400 hours between April 15 and August 31. (This is typically full-time for ten weeks, but can be customized to suit the needs of the individual companies and interns.) During that time, the companies pay the interns at least minimum wage.

Upon successful completion of the internship, as decided by the employing company, both the company and the Monroe-Brown Foundation will pay the intern a $500 bonus – a total of $1,000. Additionally, the Monroe-Brown Foundation will provide two payments of $2,500 at the end of each of the two successfully-completed semesters following the internship period. For tax purposes, all payments from the Monroe-Brown Foundation must be made directly to the school and applied to the student's account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Southwest Michigan Talent Network

The Monroe-Brown Internship Program is partnered with Southwest Michigan First in sponsoring the Southwest Michigan Talent Network. The programs are two major initiatives to attract and retain college students and keep them in the community after graduation by connecting them with scholarships, internships, job openings and networking events throughout the Kalamazoo region.

The Southwest Michigan Talent network, managed by Southwest Michigan First, is a web-based program that provides comprehensive databases of local internships, available scholarships, and job openings at some of the Kalamazoo region's largest companies. Additionally, the website provides information, resources, news, and announcements about building a career in southwest Michigan. 

To learn more, go to http://www.southwestmichiganfirst/talentnetwork/. 

Grant Application

Since its inception, the Monroe-Brown Foundation has contributed to many worthy causes. Their mission is to provide support for higher education in the State of Michigan, and to advance economic development in the Kalamazoo community through programs designed to encourage the retention and employment of local scholars.

The Board of Trustees meets in April, July, October, and December. Proposals must be received by March 31, June 30, September 30 and November 20 to be considered for the subsequent meeting*. Please download the grant application packet (34KB Word Document).

* If date falls on a weekend, submit by prior Friday.