Sarah Zehr, an incoming doctoral student in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, and assistant dean and director of Engineering Career Services at the U of I, has been awarded funding for her proposal, "Student Internship Experiences: Effects of a Mentored Online Course on Internship Performance and the Student Experience."

Her project will be funded in the amount of $7,450 by the Provost's Initiative on Teaching Advancement (PITA).

In arriving at award decisions, PITA Board members ranked proposals they deemed as excellent according to their alignment with the Campus Strategic Plan, and with regard to their scope and potential impact.

"The vast majority of engineering students participate in at least one internship during their college career and employers value these experiences in candidates," Zehr said. "Through this project, we hope to learn whether a mentored internship course enhances the student's experience and better prepares them for their future career."

Zehr's advisers are assistant professors Jennifer Delaney and Russ Korte.