Senior Cosette Gonzalez admits that she knew little about the Maxwell School’s public safety internship when she submitted her application. And she certainly never expected it would change the way she sees the world.

“I applied to this internship not knowing what it was, aside from the fact that it fulfilled my requirements for my law, society and policy major, and I’m so happy that I did,” said Gonzalez, who interned with the New York State Unified Court System in the fall of 2025. “It really opened my eyes and gave me so many different perspectives.”

Gonzalez, who also studies political science, recently joined a panel of students, alumni and community partners for an information session on the program. The students and alumni talked about their internships’ unique learning opportunities and shared how the lessons complemented their classroom instruction in an array of degree programs. Community partners shared how the program was mutually beneficial, as they gained support and new perspectives from the student participants.

The internship program began in 2021 thanks to a generous gift from Syracuse University alumnus and Maxwell Advisory Board member David Kelso ’68. Kelso hoped not only to support experiential learning but also to broaden the perspectives of both students and members of the public safety community. The first internship placements were in the Syracuse City Police Department. In the five years since, opportunities have expanded to include the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, the county district attorney’s office, and the New York State Unified Court System. All told, 25 students have so far acquired internships.

During the panel, Gonzalez recalled the time a judge gave her seven case files to read over a weekend—the same materials the attorneys would review before Monday’s proceedings.

“That’s kind of a pivotal moment,” she said. “I was like, ‘oh, wow, I would never have learned this just in the classroom.’”

That gap between theory and practice is precisely what the program is designed to close. Adjunct instructor Michaline Younis, who teaches in the program, put it plainly: “I can stand up and tell them all day long what a prison cell looks like. Going in and standing inside a jail cell and then having the same conversation in the classroom, I think really is impactful.”

Younis teaches the course Public Safety Internship (Law Policy and Society 300), taken as part of the internship. In the course, students use practical experience from their site placements to explore criminal justice and public safety issues. As Younis says, they explore the "why" of human behavior and the criminal justice system.

Senior Law Librarian Michele Coolbeth of the New York Unified Court System, one of the program’s site partners, sees the internship as a chance to pull back the curtain on a system most people only see filtered through television drama.

“What you see on TV is the tip of the iceberg,” Coolbeth said. “This internship gives us the opportunity to share that—and then hopefully recruit employees down the road, because that’s what we’re also looking for.”

For students interested in careers in law, government or public safety, the program has proven to be more than an academic exercise. Ethan Coulon ’ 25 B.A. (IR/PSc) and current M.P.A. student interned at the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office and came away with connections that have shaped his career path.

“I had a really good experience there, where I had a lot of exposure to police officers and detectives,” Coulon said. “I think that internship experience really allowed me to get my foot in the door with the criminal justice system, and it really broadened my perspective.” He is now a student worker with U.S. Federal Probation—an opportunity he credits in part to connections made during his internship.

Isabella Zuluaga ’25 B.A. (LSP/PSc), now a Syracuse University law student, interned with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office as a Maxwell undergraduate and said the experience did not just clarify her career path—it created one.

“I would recommend this internship to anyone interested in honestly being completely changed,” Zuluaga said. “I’m now going to law school because of this internship experience.”

Dean David M. Van Slyke sees the program as correcting a common blind spot in how students—and even academics—think about public service.

“I think too often public service, especially in a place like Maxwell, is viewed at the 50,000-foot level of policymakers in Washington, D.C.,” Van Slyke said. “One of the exciting things about this internship is showing that a lot happens at the state and local level. And too often we discount the challenges of implementation—what does it take to actually make things actionable?”

That on-the-ground perspective extends beyond government agencies. The program also connects students with nonprofit organizations and community and business partners, offering a fuller picture of how public safety intersects with civic life.

Director of Career Advising Kristen Aust, who helps match students with placements and supports them throughout the experience, has watched that transformation happen again and again. “The access that students gain, what they learn from it—it’s amazing,” Aust said.

The internship program is now expanding this fall thanks to Kelso’s continued support and that of additional donor Matt Rhoades ’97 B.A. (PSc).

For students looking for learning experiences beyond the classroom, the internship offers a chance to see, firsthand, how the criminal justice system actually works—and to see the world a little differently.

When asked to share its impact on her, Gonzalaz said the internship “gave me different perspectives that I never would have gotten otherwise.”