Rural Fellows relaunches with eight students serving across Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska, June 9, 2026 — Eight University of Nebraska–Lincoln students are spending part of their summer immersed in Nebraska communities as Rural Fellows.
The students are living and working alongside residents in Curtis, Hastings, York and Knox County, contributing to local projects while gaining hands-on experience. The seven-week internships run through July 17.
Fellows were selected through an application and interview process and matched with communities based on their strengths and interests. This year’s cohort began with a training academy June 1-2 before relocating to their host communities on June 3.
Timothy “Ben” Bentzinger is excited to use everything he is learning in class as a master’s student in community and regional planning. Bentzinger will work alongside Sue Crawford in York’s City Planning Department.
“York just took on a new comprehensive plan and is introducing a bike path through town, so I plan to work with them on those things, and what Sue does directly relates to my master’s studies,” Bentzinger said.
The Rural Fellows program, part of Rural Prosperity Nebraska, returned this year after a two-year pause. It is led by Mary Emery, professor in agricultural leadership, education and communication. As the program relaunched, organizers took a more tailored approach to placing students, said Blair Bagley, doctoral student and graduate research assistant.
“As we’re restarting the program, we approached the communities with the students’ talents in mind,” Bagley said. “I think this cohort of Rural Fellows is going to be a great experience for both the students and their host communities, because it’s benefiting both — students meeting professional goals and community members getting the talent they need to complete these projects.”
The fellows, communities and host organizations are:
> Timothy “Ben” Bentzinger, York, York City Planning Department
> Alexa Carter, York, York County Community Coalition
> Sarah Lange, York, York County Community Coalition
> Swade Lamb, Hastings, United Way of South Central Nebraska with a focus on affordable housing
> Hagar Ghanem, Hastings, United Way of South Central Nebraska with focus on early childhood education centers
> Graysan Guss, Hastings, enCourage Advocacy Center, Prairie Loft Center for Outdoor and Agricultural Learning
> Brandon Jurgens, Knox County with focus on emergency management through an EPSCoR grant
> Sam Durre, Curtis with focus on wildfire/burn prevention through an EPSCoR grant