When Sydney Walker, an Old Dominion University English major and Monarch Humanities Internship Academy-supported intern, first signed up for the University’s grant writing course, she wouldn’t have guessed the opportunities it would bring.

Sydney would go on to codirect a community science project, secure funding for an arts-in-education series, and join a local nonprofit board.

“I encourage my fellow students to go out into the community and make connections with nonprofits that align with their passions,” Sydney said. “The opportunities afforded to me came about because I was actively engaging in the community and saw connections to my academic work.”

It all started during a classroom conversation with David Robledo, Ph.D., a lecturer in the Department of English.

Sydney, a fiber artist passionate about environmental stewardship and sustainability, was intrigued when Dr. Robledo suggested she volunteer with an effort already in progress — Project ANiMA, short for the Amazing Neighborhood Mollusk Adventure.

Puppetry is central to Project ANiMA’s mission of making climate-focused science accessible to K-3 learners by bringing together creative, puppet-based performance storytelling with environmental science.

Project ANiMA aims to increase local environmental understanding by engaging children and the community in climate science education.

Since it connected her passions of art, writing and community action, Sydney found herself fascinated by the concept. Her artistic background equipped her to lead the project’s method and development. Sydney used repurposed materials to design handmade puppets that serve as visual aids to support science education about coastal resilience and enhance storytelling approaches.

At first, Sydney signed on to assist with grant research and writing, but her role grew. She was promoted to director of development and production for the project. By managing logistics, creative direction and collaborations with students, writers, teachers, artists and others, Sydney enhanced Project ANiMA’s impact.

For example, she identified an opportunity for Project ANiMA to collaborate with 757 Creative ReUse Center, a Norfolk-based non-profit that repurposes donated craft materials and redistributes them to educators, artists and youth programs.

At the time, the center didn’t have a grant writer, and after COVID, it experienced financial setbacks.

“We really needed a nonprofit partner so that we could bring in funding for the project and wanted to find a way to create a mutually beneficial partnership where we could bring in money to a local organization that needed it,” Sydney said.

Through her Monarch Humanities Internship Academy internship with the 757 Creative ReUse Center, she could help both the project and the nonprofit. By advancing their aligned goals, she negotiated additional internships for Old Dominion University students and, through a Schacht Spindle Company grant proposal, secured $3,000 of fiber equipment. Following those efforts, 757 Creative invited Walker to join their board of directors.

Sydney’s experiences with Project ANiMA led to professional presentation opportunities, including ODU’s Spring Writing at the Crossroads (where she was a panel member), the University’s Board of Visitors, and a technical and scientific communication conference at Texas Tech University.

She said her internships led “to something that has the potential to have a real impact.” Project ANiMA addresses the climate crisis by building community connections.

“Sydney’s work with the 757 Creative Reuse Center illustrates how internships with the Monarch Humanities Internship Academy can be used strategically to build skills directly related to a student’s creative research focus,” Dr. Robledo said. “Overall, Sydney has drawn from her internship experience powerful ways to support an extended research project, while developing important ties with the Norfolk nonprofit community.”

Her work with ANiMA continues as she pursues a master’s degree in technical writing at Old Dominion University.

“I didn’t think that I would have the resources or the opportunity to take my education beyond a bachelor's degree; it was always kind of like a pipedream for me,” she said. “This experience opened up funding opportunities and community connections,” she said.

While Sydney is uncertain where her post-graduate path will take her, she knows one thing: Her professional future will involve community-based education and environmental action.

Author Carla Milton earned her master’s in Lifespan and Digital Communication from ODU in May 2025 and now leads Fortune 500 corporate wellness and fitness enterprise operations in Hartford, Connecticut.

For more on Sydney Walker’s work, view her internship portfolio: https://sydneyfwalker.wixsite.com/myportfolio.

Visit the Monarch Humanities Internship Academy to learn about upcoming paid internship opportunities.

Top photo: Sydney Walker, right, holds Reign, a puppet mermaid who stars in “The Amazing Neighborhood Mollusk Adventure.” Walker and Reign were photographed at Norfolk’s 757 Creative ReUse Center where Walker sewed the show’s characters. Image credit: Sam McDonald/ODU