The Experiential Learning & Opportunity Internship Program (ELOIP), in coordination with the Division of Public Health, and colleges/universities in North Carolina, is a workforce development initiative.  The primary goal of the program is to build a strong workforce by encouraging undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to seek careers in public health and human services to underpin NC’s systems of care including health educators, nurses, environmental health specialists, social workers and other human services professionals. 

Within the scope of the internship, interns participate in a series of development opportunities that include an introduction to DHHS and the Division of Public Health, resume writing, personality assessment, training in group dynamics, disease prevention and response and communication skills among other professional and program development activities.  They are also paired with staff liaisons to provide guidance and a regular point of contact for interns and supervisors to: 

• Receive support for problem-solving and quality control as needed. 

• Help facilitate the connection between interns and their supervisors. 

• Ensure early and effective pairing, on-going support and accountability. 

• Address any issues that may require intervention or strategic actions for a supervisor/intern pair or the program. 

ELOIP strives to make certain that interns have skill-based professional experiences that reflect workplace practices to meet the needs of the public sector.  Quality assurance practices including surveys and feedback from interns, program participants, and partners provide valuable information that influences programmatic and administrative components of the program.  Other quality assurance practices have also been implemented to strengthen operating policies like communicating expectations and job functions to interns; providing ways to mediate and address supervisor and intern concerns; establishing processes to terminate interns from the program; and identifying internal and external staff to facilitate and/or present educational training opportunities. 

Michael Leach, Donyea Daniels, Ladonna Huffaker