Battle Creek students earn experience, help community through internships

October 28, 2025 (Volume 49, Number 5)
Article by Joseph Martin

two rows of students standing in front of the GVSU letters, carillon tower in background

Battle Creek Scholar students who completed internships with Battle Creek organizations and businesses are pictured on the Valley Campus.

Last summer, six different organizations in Battle Creek had help from 14 Grand Valley students who completed internships through the Battle Creek Scholars Program. The program now supports both recipients of the Bearcat Advantage and Pipeline Scholars scholarships.

Kaijehl Williams, a junior majoring in pre-physician assistant studies, received a Pipeline Scholars scholarship in 2023 and started his internship at Bronson Healthcare in May. Williams said he enjoyed helping patients and earned certification in basic life support during his time there.

“I usually worked alongside other medical assistants in my internship, sometimes nurses,” he said. “Each person taught me new skills to be more effective and efficient at my job. I really enjoyed how the job let me build relationships with my patients, and I liked to do whatever I could to improve their quality of care.”

Five students completed nursing internships at Bronson. Six students completed education, IT, or marketing internships with Battle Creek Public Schools and two interned with the Battle Creek Student Support Program and the Battle Creek Small Business Development Office.

Estefany Paniagua-Pardo, assistant director of the Battle Creek Scholars Program, helped connect students to organizations that align with their major. Paniagua-Pardo said the program takes a holistic approach to supporting its students.

“Internships provide students with valuable real-world experience by offering hands-on learning and opportunities for theory-to-practice application, which is critical to student learning outside of the classroom,” Paniagua-Pardo said. “For many students, internships serve as their first entry into a professional environment, helping them develop both the hard and soft skills necessary to succeed within their chosen fields."

Williams said he’d love to return to Bronson as a physician assistant one day, adding that he plans to focus on pediatric neurological care once he begins his master’s degree program.