Emerson Tully

Nursing major Emerson Tully’s grant writing internship at Refuge Art School in Lowell was supposed to be a one-semester thing.

“But once you go to Refuge, you can’t leave,” Tully says of the nonprofit organization that provides art education, mentorship and leadership development to young people in the community. “Coming to Refuge was probably my favorite part of the week.”

So when Tully’s paid internship — funded by a $2,500 grant from the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation — was over at the end of her first year at UMass Lowell, she looked for a way to continue working there during the summer. 

She found it with the Moloney Student Scholar Program, which provides up to $2,500 in financial support to full-time UMass Lowell students who land unpaid internships with nonprofits or government agencies.

“I’m glad that I found the Moloney Scholarship when I did. I appreciate what Refuge does, and I want to help them as much as I can,” says Tully, who spends 10 hours a week at the school’s Western Avenue Studios location, researching and assessing funding opportunities and writing grant proposals.

How does a first-year nursing major know how to write grants? The Parker Foundation-funded program, run by English Professor Diana Archibald and Robin Toof, director of the university’s Center for Community Research and Engagement, provides 10 participating students with a training session on how to support a nonprofit staff, with students researching potential funders and issues related to grant requests.

“Grant writing is a more persuasive type of writing, which I love. Instead of just stating facts about Refuge, you can add a voice, which makes a big difference,” says Tully, who helped the organization secure $45,000 in grant funding from about a dozen sources during her spring semester internship.

A first-generation college student from Malden, Tully developed a love of writing at Malden Catholic High School, where she was editor of her school paper for three years.

She decided to pursue nursing in college, however, after her grandfather was diagnosed with cancer.

“He’s been in and out of hospitals, and seeing the impact that the nurses have had on him and my family … I want to make that impact on other people,” Tully says.

Tully was familiar with UMass Lowell thanks to her two older brothers: Carson Tully ’22 is a business alum, and Preston Tully is a mechanical engineering major. Despite the urge to “rebel and be different” by attending another school, she also chose UMass Lowell.

“I’m paying for school myself, and UMass Lowell is a great school that’s affordable,” says Tully, who juggles several part-time jobs, including as a pharmacy technician at CVS. “Ever since being here, I know that it is the place for me. I’ve made it home, and I love it here.”

An Honors College student, Tully received an Honors Fellowship to help write the college’s monthly newsletter. She is also a member of the Nursing Students Without Borders student organization, where she helped organize a campus blood drive. And in her limited free time, she started a side hustle selling homemade sourdough bread.

“I’m busy, but it’s good preparation for being a nurse, especially with those 12-hour shifts,” says Tully, who plans to earn her undergraduate degree in three and a half years.

One thing she doesn’t plan to give up anytime soon: her work at Refuge Art School.

“Even if it’s unpaid, I’m going to stick with Refuge, because it’s such a great community,” she says. “They deserve more support, and I can help them.”