University Community Service Center

For more than 20 years, Summer Links, a program now led by the University Community Service Center within the Office of Civic Engagement, has paired undergraduate students with internships at local community-based organizations like Black Star to explore social issues impacting the City of Chicago.

Supporting organizations that support the South Side through UCSC, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the area, has been a meaningful way for Koomson to stay connected to her community and join forces with like-minded peers who care about making a positive impact, even if engagement this year has been largely virtual.

Summer Links pairs undergraduate students like Tse with internships at local community-based organizations and examines social issues impacting the city of Chicago. 

Every other Friday, Davis and her group lead technology sessions at Hyde Park’s Augustana Lutheran Church in partnership with Chicago Hyde Park Village (CHPV), a nonprofit support network for older adults in the neighborhood.

Ashlyn Sparrow wants young people from Chicago’s South Side to take her job someday. As the Assistant Director of the Weston Game Lab at the University of Chicago, Sparrow is a game designer who is always eager to show young people that they too can turn their personal interests into fulfilling careers.

An Environmental and Urban Studies major and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies minor who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, rising fourth year Julian Green says participating in the Summer Links internship program channeled passion into meaningful impact.

Supporting organizations that support the South Side through UCSC, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the area, has been a meaningful way for Koomson to stay connected to her community and join forces with like-minded peers who care about making a positive impact, even if engagement this year has been largely virtual.