Dear Employer:
Yale in Kentucky, Inc., the association of Yale alumni in the Greater Louisville area appreciates your interest in the Bulldogs in the Bluegrass summer internship program. Beginning our 16th year, we believe students, employers, alumni, mentors and community members will benefit from the unique opportunities of Bulldogs in the Bluegrass.
Since its inception, 
the Bulldogs in the Bluegrass program has brought over 364 Yale students to Louisville for a unique and extremely rewarding summer experience. The Bulldogs have come from over 48 states and 19 foreign countries, and we regularly receive over 140 applicants each year for our 30+ intern positions. They have worked diligently for more than 120 local employers, two-thirds of those nonprofit employers. The ultimate result is that 40 recent college graduates have moved to Louisville because of Bulldogs in the Bluegrass.
We have prepared this package of information for your convenience to evaluate and guide your participation in the Bulldogs in the Bluegrass. The package contains:
- Memo of Understanding and Hiring Process—this document serves as the agreement between each employer and Yale in Kentucky, Inc. It must be completed and returned by fax or mail as soon as possible. The document includes some key dates for the program.
- Employer Guidelines – Suggested qualities of a good internship
- A sample Calendar of Events – this calendar will provide some insight into the kinds and numbers of activities in which the students are involved during their summer.
- Comments from Bulldog Employers in Louisville.
For those of you who are new to the Bulldogs in the Bluegrass program, here is a brief history and description of some of the most significant features of the program:
The Bulldogs in the Bluegrass summer internship program was started by Yale in Kentucky, Inc. in 1999. The mission of the program is to employ hard working Yale undergraduate students in positions that increase the students’ work experiences, benefit the employers, and enhance the Louisville community as a whole. It is the goal of Yale in Kentucky, Inc. to arrange high quality job offerings from both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors of the community.
Bulldogs in the Bluegrass is part of the Bulldogs Across America summer internship program. Since its inception, the program has since expanded to include Cleveland, San Francisco, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Santa Fe and St. Louis. To date, we’ve had over 1,400 Yale students participate in Bulldogs programs across the country, and over 85 have moved to a Bulldog city after graduation.
In order to introduce the students to the assets and leadership of the community, the summer includes numerous civic and social events. These include programs such as a “City View” day which provides an opportunity to meet various political and civic leaders in the community and to tour several area attractions. The students will also attend presentations by various Yale alumni and local community leaders as well as visit places of interest around the Greater Louisville area.
The students are housed together in a dorm setting for the summer. The housing will be provided by Yale in Kentucky Inc. and is free of charge to the students. Each student is guaranteed to receive a minimum of $2,700.00 in gross compensation for the 10-week internship (360 work hours). Non-subsidized employers are required to reimburse the Yale in Kentucky, Inc. $1,300.00 toward the housing costs of the intern. Thus the total expense for a non-subsidized employer is $4,000. Qualified employers (non-profit and/or governmental) are exempt from this reimbursement requirement for one intern per year.
Each student is paired with a mentor for the summer. The mentor serves as another interested adult in the life of the intern, and in many cases the mentor families become like second families to the students while they are in Louisville. Some of these mentors are Yale alumni; others are members of the community with an interest in the program.
Students apply for internships electronically. The students apply directly to the employers and the employers are responsible for selecting their own intern(s). Yale in Kentucky, Inc. does not play a direct role in the selection of interns. Once the employer has selected an intern and issued a Commitment Letter through the website, the internship position must be ratified by Yale in Kentucky, Inc. and the Jobs Committee. The position is not finalized until Yale in Kentucky, Inc. has granted the position. Employers are therefore encouraged and urged to make selections in a timely manner to increase their chances of being granted a summer intern.
We look forward to working with you to make Bulldogs in the Bluegrass summer internship program a success.