Alumnus makes $5,000 gift to Summer Internship Scholarship for New Paltz students

NEW PALTZ – Jeffrey Korn, Esq., has made the initial gift to the 2013 Summer Internship Scholarship Fundraising Campaign for the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (LA&S) at SUNY New Paltz.

Korn donated $5,000 to the fund, which is intended to make it possible for students to participate in low-paying or unpaid summer internships that are relevant to their areas of study.

Korn graduated from New Paltz in 1979, cum laude, with a degree in communication studies and political science. He went on to earn a juris doctorate from Stetson University and currently serves as chief legal officer of Crexendo, Inc. Korn, who lives in Austin, Texas, also serves as a member of the LA&S Advisory Board.

“This kind of financial support from generous and dedicated alumni is exactly what we need in order for our students to have the kind of substantive out-of-classroom educational opportunities that are so important to their successes in life,” said New Paltz President Donald P. Christian. “We are deeply grateful to Mr. Korn for his commitment to SUNY New Paltz.”

Applicants for the Summer Internship Scholarship must be majoring in a department or program within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. A committee of faculty and professional staff, chaired by the dean, selects the recipients based on GPA, the quality of the internship, the relevance of the internship to the student’s academic major and educational goals, and the relevance of the internship to the student’s future career. Scholarship awardees will be required to report in writing or as a public presentation about their internship experience. Awards of up to $1,000 per student will be made. The advisory board seeks to raise $15,000 this year.

“These experiences are enormously meaningful for our students,” stated LA&S Dean James Schiffer. “They provide opportunities for students to learn in real-world settings with working professionals. Internships help students apply the knowledge they gain in the classroom to actual job situations.”

Onika Jervis, chair of the LA&S Advisory Board and New Paltz alumna (class of 1993), concurred with Schiffer. “We are so grateful to Jeff Korn for the leadership he has shown in this initiative and for the dedication he has for LA&S and SUNY New Paltz,” she said.

For his part, Korn is happy to be able to give back to the College.

“The time I spent at New Paltz prepared me extraordinarily well for the challenges and opportunities in life,” Korn said. “I hope in some small way this pledge will inspire other alumni to join the effort to help today’s students have as enriching an experience as I had.”