Student supports patients with dementia through internship at Memory Keepers
Junior Kiersten Anderson plans to earn a PhD in developmental psychology. This summer, the Chancellor’s Career Fellows Program funded her internship at local nonprofit Memory Keepers. (Photo: Zach Trabitz/WashU)
WashU junior Kiersten Anderson prepares to dance in front of her laptop, smiling warmly for a Zoom room full of elderly patients. Her goal is to help these patients engage their bodies, get energized and practice critical memory retrieval skills.
“I chose some songs from the ’50s today,” Anderson tells the patients from the comfort of their own homes. “I hope you’re all excited to dance with me!”
Anderson is a research and therapy intern at Memory Keepers, a St. Louis-based nonprofit that provides cognitive care for individuals with memory-related illnesses and programs for health-care providers and caregivers. In her role, she observes caregiver support groups, learns about therapy strategies and co-hosts weekly therapy sessions.
She found the position through WashU’s Chancellor’s Career Fellows Program, a Center for Career Engagement initiative for sophomores whose family incomes are less than $75,000. The program helps students build professional skills, find a summer internship that matches their career goals and provides a stipend of up to $5,000. In addition, many fellows, including Anderson, also receive career mentorship from industry and community leaders through the Taylor Family Center for Student Success, which supports first-generation and limited-income students.
“The Memory Keepers team first asked me, ‘What can you handle?’ They want me to learn so much and have allowed me to take on fascinating projects,” Anderson said. “I get to both work with and shadow my bosses. As someone who comes from a low-income, first-generation background, it’s been amazing having people believe in me.”
Anderson works remotely, which is ideal as she does not have her own car. She said the cognitive care sessions have sparked a new interest in clinical care, while her research assignments have strengthened her skills as an investigator. Ultimately, she plans to pursue a PhD in developmental psychology.
“I want to go into pediatrics, and though I’m obviously not working in pediatrics right now with Memory Keepers, they have really solidified that I do want some patient contact,” Anderson said. “In my first and second year, I thought I just wanted to be on a bench in a lab with a white lab coat. But after Memory Keepers, I do think that getting some one-on-one time with the people you care for is crucial.”
The Chancellor’s Career Fellows Program was founded in 2021 by Washington University in St. Louis Chancellor Andrew D. Martin so that every student, regardless of family income, can have a meaningful career experience. The program is funded, in part, by the Center for Career Engagement Professional Opportunities Fund.
“Research shows that having a paid internship is beneficial to students’ careers in terms of the number of job offers they get and their starting salary when they get a job offer at graduation,” said Tyler Gahrs, manager of strategy and impact for the Center for Career Engagement. “The Chancellor’s Career Fellows Program gives our students the professional skills that they’re going to use throughout their whole career, and it expands their network through professional contacts, making them a more attractive candidate.”
Anderson said the program also gave her confidence.
“When it comes to internships, I don’t come from a background with a big professional network,” Anderson said. “But that doesn’t dictate my future. Chancellor’s Fellows has shown me that if you put in the work, the opportunities will come to you.”
