Marie Selby Botanical Gardens has announced its selection and participation in the Smithsonian Affiliations pilot initiative, which increases access to internship opportunities for college-level students. In partnership with Emerson Collective, founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, the program was designed to employ and activate youth around the country with an opportunity to connect with communities through digital learning and reinvent Smithsonian Affiliations’ approach to summer internships. Students were selected from an applicant pool of 1,595 young people and 307 colleges and universities. As a cohort, they represent just under 60 colleges and universities and worked from June 14 to Aug. 6 in communities spanning from Washington, D.C., to Alaska. Purposefully designed as a collaborative virtual opportunity, interns worked in virtual teams of three and were were matched with 25 Smithsonian Affiliate organizations across the country.

Selby Gardens hosted three interns in the pilot program: Ania Ty, from Oregon State University; Miles Mikofsky, from the University of Chicago; and Samantha Wetherell, from University of Arizona. Each intern focused on the gardens' We Dream a World: African American Landscape Painters of Mid-Century Florida, The Highwaymen exhibit. To access the Learning Labs created by Selby Gardens’ interns, click here.