How did you spend your summer?
Five area college students can respond to that question with a simple answer. They interned at non-profit organizations throughout the Alleghany Highlands.
Two students spent their summer working with The Alleghany Foundation, two assisted at the Alleghany Historical Society, and another interned at the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism.
These student interns include Khrea Hernandez and Daniel Grizzard at The Alleghany Foundation, Kelly Rock and Paul Hanna at the Alleghany Historical Society and Macie Rice with the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. This was Hanna’s second summer working with the Alleghany Historical Society.
“The Alleghany Foundation supports the summer internships as a way to introduce college students to the many ways non-profits strengthen our communities and the roles the foundation plays,” said Mary Fant Donnan, executive director of The Alleghany Foundation.
Khrea Hernandez lives in Covington with her mother and stepfather, Doreen and Nathan Alt. She graduated from Alleghany High School in 2018 and is a rising sophomore at Jefferson College of Health Sciences in Roanoke pursuing a degree in nursing.
This summer, Khrea has been researching the best practices that have worked in other schools and helped them build a culture of health which will hopefully help both Alleghany County and Covington City public schools.
In her free time, Khrea enjoys watching movies, thrifting and sewing, working crosswords, playing pool and going to Cakes Your Way for iced coffee.
Daniel Grizzard is about to enter his senior year at Virginia Tech, where he is pursuing a degree in sustainable biomaterials with a minor in history.
This summer, he has been learning about economic development while helping The Alleghany Foundation to identify areas of priority in grant-making and goal-setting.
Daniel is from Loudoun County, where his parents, John and Sally Grizzard, still reside.
“I have really enjoyed working with Khrea and Daniel this summer,” Donnan said. “Both of them have been able to provide research that will be helpful in our work over the coming year. I have learned from them as well — particularly about some new ways to use technology to communicate more effectively.”
Kelly Rock is a rising sophomore at James Madison University where she is pursuing a degree in music education.
This summer, she worked as an intern at the Alleghany Historical Society where she helped with the development of the Industrial Heritage and Technology Discovery Center. This included cataloging books, making transcripts of interviews and attending meetings.
Kelly resides in the Falling Spring section of Alleghany County. She is the daughter of Michelle and Danny Austin and Jody Rock.
Paul Hanna is a rising senior at James Madison University, pursuing a degree in history with a minor in microbiology.
This summer, he worked at an internship for the Alleghany Historical Society where he helped with the development of the Industrial Heritage and Technology Center, as well as scanning local artifacts for the society database.
Paul is the son of Kevin and Diane Hanna. He resides in Covington.
“Paul Hanna and Kelly Rock have been instrumental in helping the society catalog a lot of our documents, photographs, and archival information, and also getting interviews with industrial heritage workers transcribed so we can use them in written work,” said Alleghany Historical Society President Dr. Paul Linkenhoker. “They have also represented the society at many events throughout the Highlands — the Heritage Day festival in Clifton Forge and the Covington Cork & Pork Festival.
“I’m just really grateful to The Alleghany Foundation for supporting us having interns during the summer to help do some of the work for the society,” he added.
Macie Rice is currently attending Dabney S. Lancaster Community College where she is pursuing a degree in business administration. After graduating from DSLCC, she plans to further her education, majoring in marketing with a minor in international business at another university.
This summer, Macie interned at the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. She says her internship “has taught me many different skills, lessons and introduced me to a lot of amazing people.” She also worked this summer as a lifeguard at the Covington City Pool and took an online class at DSLCC.
Macie is a native of Covington and has lived here her entire life. She is the daughter of Stephen and Cathy Rice.
“We have enjoyed having Macie on our staff this summer as an intern,” said Teresa Hammond, executive director of the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. “She assisted with several special projects and with the outdoor events, including the Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon as well as the Alleghany Gran Fondo and upcoming Lake Moomaw Open Water Swim.
“Macie learned about how we are trying to strengthen and grow our tourism economy here in the Alleghany Highlands,” Hammond added. “Having a college student from the area working in our office also gave us a renewed perspective on why we focus our energies on growing tourism and educating the visitors on all that the Alleghany Highlands has to offer.”
Anyone interested in applying for an internship for next summer should check The Alleghany Foundation website in December or January and/or look for an ad in the Virginian Review.
Reprinted with permission from the Virginian Review. This Story appeared in the August 3, 2019, edition of the newspaper.