Summer Enrichment
Ohio Wesleyan Student Works with Youth During Internship with Cleveland Church
Name: Emily Clausing '25
Hometown: Portsmouth, Ohio
Majors: Music and English (Literature Concentration)
Minor: Theatre
OWU Connection Experience: Summer internship at Elizabeth Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio
Clausing worked as a summer enrichment camp assistant teacher at the downtown Cleveland church. Her internship was coordinated by the Summer on the Cuyahoga (SOTC) program, which seeks to showcase and attract talent to Northeast Ohio. SOTC provides up to 80 internships each summer to students from nine U.S. colleges and universities, including Ohio Wesleyan.
My Internship
"My primary job duties this summer included creating lesson plans and teaching introductory theatre to students aged 6-13 years old, teaching and aiding middle school students with English, math, reading, and history, supervising field trips, and mediating student disputes."
Favorite Moments
"Every Friday at camp we have 'Fun Fridays.' These 'Fun Fridays' can include anything from field trips, to paint parties, to board game tournaments, to park days. For the second Fun Friday, I worked hard to create a lesson plan that resulted in all of my students creating chocolate chip cookies at the end of the day.
"The lesson ended up being very successful, and all of the kids ended up doing an incredible job with their cookies, but my favorite part of this whole thing was when one of my middle school students, who had previously not been having a great time at camp and was considering dropping out, came up to me and told me, 'Today was my favorite day at camp so far! I've gotta stay now.'
"I know that doesn't seem like a whole lot, but that validation was what I needed to push me through the rest of the summer, knowing that I had what it took to keep my students invested and interested in the things I wanted them to learn."
This experience mattered so much to me because it allowed me to discover my interests and potential career options in a safe environment where I didn't feel the overwhelming pressure of making decisions.
Lessons Learned
"One of the biggest things I have taken away from this experience is that I just need to be more confident in myself. Putting myself in front of a bunch of elementary and middle school students for the entire summer has taught me that I can do hard things and I am much more competent than I previously thought.
"I also learned that I love working with kids and experiencing what I like to call the 'ah-ha moment'; the moment in which a student finally grasps a concept and you can see the lightbulb in their head blinking brightly.
"This summer in this internship solidified my need to keep working with youth to help shape them into the best possible versions of themselves. This experience mattered so much to me because it allowed me to discover my interests and potential career options in a safe environment where I didn't feel the overwhelming pressure of making decisions."
A Supportive Bishop
Through the SOTC Program, I was introduced to Chris Litzer, OWU Class of 2014, and senior vice president of Capital Markets at Marcus & Millichap Capital Corporation. Chris was one of the first people to contact me and congratulate me on being accepted into the SOTC Program. On our first day of work, he also messaged every intern from OWU and wished them luck on our first day.
"Chris has served as a cheerleader and a source of contact for this summer, making this process a lot less stressful. He also treated all of the OWU interns to dinner at a yacht club where we were able to discuss his work, our work, and our goals for after graduation."
A Valuable Career Connection
"I would not have even known to apply for this internship had it not been for an email from the OWU Career Connection office. … After I applied and was accepted into the program, incredibly last minute might I add, Mindy Agin was able to roll with the punches and was very quick to help me organize my thoughts and answer any questions (including) support I could receive from Ohio Wesleyan.
"Because of her, I was able to apply for and receive a grant through the Career Connection office that covered the program fee for SOTC." (Agin is an assistant director of Career Planning and Exploration for the OWU Career Connection.)
Enjoying Cleveland
"I have always been intimidated by major cities, but Cleveland was a lot more manageable than I thought it would be. … I like how many different parts of the city there are to see and that there are opportunities everywhere, as long as you know where to look.
"One of my favorite experiences in Cleveland would probably be when I saw Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr in the original Broadway cast of 'Hamilton') perform with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Center just a little bit outside of Cleveland. This concert was so incredible and being in a city that allows for performance opportunities like this while also not feeling too crowded makes it doubly so."
My Campus Involvement
"I am a soon-to-be four-year member of OWU's chapter of NafME (National Association for Music Education), where I have served as both the vice president and president of the club, a four-year member of the Choral Arts Society, and a three-year member of OWU's Chamber Choir.
"I am also the new treasurer for Theta Alpha Phi and the song leader and sisterhood chair for the Alpha Rho Chapter of the Delta Zeta sorority. As a Performing Arts major, I can also be found on stage quite frequently performing in musicals, plays, One-Acts, and Musical Theatre Scenes. On top of this, I also work for both the science library and the choral arts music library."
Why I Chose Ohio Wesleyan?
"I was drawn to OWU because of the OWU Connection, the financial package I received from the university, my high school choir director being an alumnus of OWU, and the fact that I thought University Hall looked like Hogwarts.
"I appreciated the support that OWU students received from the university to discover their passions as well as the placement percentages for jobs received post-graduation. As someone who is constantly terrified of the future and all that it holds, I knew that I would be in an environment where I was able to seek out all of the support I wanted and/or needed at Ohio Wesleyan University."
My Plans After Graduation
"This feels like the million-dollar question. The short answer is: I don't know for sure yet. Ideally, I would like to travel the world for a little while, just to see what is out there.
"Long term, I would love to work for community outreach nonprofits that work specifically with children and maybe someday open my own community center that would cater to the needs of a neighborhood. Eventually, I think it would be nice to go back to school for educational policy or urban development as I have witnessed firsthand the decline in educational standards for our youth and would love to be a part of the change, but again, I believe I need to have a few more world experiences before making these decisions. …
"OWU allows me to feel confident in my indecision because, through them, I know that there are several doors just waiting to be opened and discovered in my future."