Founded in 2013, the Arts, Letters, and Enterprise (ALE) program is Trinity’s one-of-a-kind connection between the liberal arts classroom and the professional world. Pictured above, ALE intern Mason Stark '16 examines the ethics of philanthropy at John Burnam Consulting.
ALE places Tigers in highly competitive, paid internships in nonprofits across San Antonio and other U.S. cities. In 2018, ALE summer interns partnered with 21 nonprofits, ranging from arts enterprises such as the San Antonio Symphony to political offices such as Sen. John Cornyn ’73 (R-TX) and Texas state Rep. Diego Bernal (D).
In total, ALE has generated more than 53 internships so far at 28 of these partner nonprofits and organizations in the community. Students selected for these opportunities have come from 29 total majors.
In 2019, this program grew to include school-year internships, thanks to new funding from USAA and strong institutional support. Student interest, notes music professor Carl Leafstedt, is “huge for what we’re able to offer,” with more than 120 applications for the 21 ALE internships in 2018 alone.
ALE has also started expanding beyond San Antonio, as English major Cheyne Minto ’19 branched out to powerful St. Louis public relations firm AHC Consulting in summer 2018. AHC, founded by Alison Hawk ’88, is one of many Trinity alumni connections empowering this growing ALE network.
Minto says an ALE internship can help students realize the many ways that a liberal arts curriculum can give students a competitive professional edge in the business world.
“You couldn’t find this experience at any other university,” Minto says. “There are so many careers you can have with an English degree, and an ALE internship opens you up to all these options.”
Minto brought his English skills to bear on the PR world
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