MAY 20 MEDIA RELEASE__Bluffton University students Trevor King ’28 of Wauseon, Ohio and Logan Daugherty ’27 of Bradford, Ohio are the 2025 recipients of the Summer Discovery Grant. This grant awards two first year or sophomore students $1,500 each for a 4-6 week unpaid vocational experience. Utilizing the summer months, students explore the relationship between vocation and faith through internships, job shadowing or other career related opportunities. 

King, a medical laboratory science major, plans to shadow medical professionals in two local hospital laboratories. Through this opportunity he hopes to gain knowledge in areas such as chemistry, hematology, histology and pathology, amongst others. “This experience is a crucial step in helping me identify which areas of the lab I am most interested in and can see myself working in,” King said.

Daugherty, a biology and chemistry double major, will intern at the Washington Community Scholars Center (WCSC), a Mennonite affiliated internship opportunity in Washington D.C. WCSC will provide Daugherty with 250 internship hours and allow him to work in medical settings like clinics, inpatient care centers or hospice centers.  “Most medical schools recommend 300-400 hours of internship for applications, so this will help me to get ahead of the curve,” said Daughtry. “The knowledge and practice attained during this time will also give me a better understanding of what role I would like to have within the medical field.”

Students who are interested in applying for a Summer Discovery Grant may do so in the spring semester of their freshman or sophomore year. These opportunities allow students to design an experience that allows them to creatively explore vocation and build on Bluffton’s core principle of discovery.