A few days into her summer internship with a startup called StyreIQ, rising senior Whitney Hess found herself at a table with the company’s founder and representatives from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. Hess was there to help pitch the social media governance platform and hopefully land the college as a pilot client.

“Watching [the pitch] in real time, with a real client, was cool and not what I was expecting to do my first week,” she said. “It helped me get my feet on the ground and showed that no two days are the same in a startup.”

Hess is one of more than 600 Richmond students who gained hands-on experience this summer with support from a UR Summer Fellowship. More than $2.5 million was awarded in 2026, with awards roughly split between internship and faculty-mentored research experiences. Students, who were eligible for funding of up to $5,300, worked with organizations based in 37 states (including Washington, D.C.) and 36 countries.

Brendan Halligan, senior associate director of experiential learning and engagement, said students pursued a wide array of opportunities, from traveling to Dublin to research sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, to working at arts organizations and museums, to interning with U.S. Senate and House representatives.

The Richmond Guarantee ensures that every continuing undergraduate student in the School of Arts & Sciences, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, and the Robins School of Business is eligible for funding to support one unpaid or underpaid summer internship or faculty-mentored research experience before they graduate. The program helps make valuable professional summer experiences available to all students, and they can apply at any point during their academic career. This year, the university awarded 21% of fellowships to students finishing their first year, 40% to sophomores, 37% to juniors, and 1% to seniors. The average award for summer 2026 was $4,632.

“[Research and internships] allow students to connect what they’re learning in the classroom in new settings, explore interests, and develop skills that make them competitive in an ever-changing job market,” Halligan said. “The Richmond Guarantee is amazing because students don’t have to choose between earning income and gaining the experience that is so key to their future.”

UR partners with Startup Virginia

For Hess — a double major in leadership studies and business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship — this summer was her first internship, and it met the requirements for her Jepson internship. She connected with StyreIQ’s founder, Tristana Nesvig Trani, thanks to a partnership between the university and the nonprofit Startup Virginia, which was recently ranked No. 8 in the nation and No. 1 in Virginia by TIME’s inaugural 2026 list of America’s Best Incubators & Accelerators.

Nesvig Trani is part of the organization’s incubator for startup founders. After a career working in social media content and governance for Virginia Commonwealth University, she had an idea for a tool to make it easier for institutions to comply with accessibility requirements and other regulations.

Last year, Startup Virginia connected Nesvig Trani with pro bono developers to build the software. This year, they helped her hire four University of Richmond interns to help bring her product to market. Hess was responsible for client experience. Rising junior Maria Ilusion Soto focused on branding, design and marketing. Rising senior Jeremy Um worked on finance and operations, while rising junior Abel Elias drove a growth and development approach. The whole team also contributed to a go-to-market strategy.