More than 100 student interns are abroad this summer through Rocket Kids, providing educational and recreational programming to children at U.S. Army bases in Europe between sightseeing trips to iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower.
The experience will last more than a summer for some.
Lily Fritz spent two summers abroad through Rocket Kids before beginning her career as a child and youth program assistant for preschool classrooms for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM), Europe, in Brunssum, Netherlands.
As the demand for high-quality child care persists across the military, with thousands of children on waiting lists for the military-run centers on which their parents rely for family and career stability, as reported by NBC News in 2024, Rocket Kids has become a career pipeline for University of Toledo alumni like Lily Fritz.
Fritz spent two summers in the Netherlands and Italy through Rocket Kids before she earned her bachelor’s degree in special education with an intervention specialist license in May 2025. Now she serves as a child and youth program assistant for preschool classrooms for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM), Europe, in Brunssum, Netherlands.
“Rocket Kids played a big role in helping me get to where I am today,” Fritz said. “Being part of that community gave me so much support and encouragement. It gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities like working abroad.”
Rocket Kids reflects an institutional priority on experiential learning at UToledo, which is launching a University-wide initiative called Applied Skills for Career Experience, Networking and Development (ASCEND) beginning in the fall semester.
ASCEND requires every undergraduate, regardless of major, to engage in an experience-based learning opportunity before earning their degree. These co-ops or internships, undergraduate research or clinicals, service-learning or study abroad experiences and other University-approved opportunities will ensure that they graduate with the sort of real-world experience that bolsters resumes and launches careers.
Fritz is one of several who have already built a career on their experience with Rocket Kids.
UToledo launched the program, which is housed in the Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education, with a $11.5 million grant through IMCOM-Europe NAF in 2023.
Faith Wright interned in Ansbach, Germany, in the summer of 2025.
It has expanded significantly since then with student interns working while earning course credit at 12 bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
Faith Wright interned in Ansbach, Germany, in the summer of 2025.
She credits the program with transforming her career aspirations. After she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in May 2025, she began working part time as a child and youth program assistant for school-age children for IMCOM-Europe in Ansbach.
“Rocket Kids has brought so many opportunities into my life,” Wright said. “It gave me the courage and confidence to make life-changing decisions, like moving abroad to chase my dreams. Through this program and job, I have built independence, courage and so many important life skills.”
Since beginning his career overseas, Dylan Smith, a Judith Herb Scholar who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education, has already earned a promotion — a demonstration of the leadership and professionalism he developed through Rocket Kids.
He’s currently a supervisory program specialist for school-age care for IMCOM-Europe in Vicenza, Italy.
“The Rocket Kids program exposed me to a whole new world outside of my hometown,” Smith said. “It also gave me an opportunity to not only explore said world, but to positively impact the lives of youth as much as they impacted mine.”
Dylan Smith is a supervisory program specialist for school-age care for IMCOM-Europe in Vicenza, Italy.
As an opportunity for students to live, work and serve abroad while developing professional skills valued by employers — like leadership, communication, cultural competency and problem-solving — Rocket Kids was designed to provide benefits that extend far beyond a single summer, said Dr. Sammy Spann, its director and the vice provost and dean of students at UToledo. He’s pleased to see that vision come to fruition.
“Rocket Kids was created to provide our students with a transformational international experience while meeting an important need for U.S. military families overseas,” Spann said. “What we’re seeing now is even more exciting — students are turning those experiences into meaningful careers. Watching our graduates continue serving military families after graduation is one of the greatest measures of our program’s success.”
The burgeoning careers of Fritz, Wright and Smith reflect UToledo’s commitment to experiential learning and student success, Spann added.
“An internship should be more than a line on a resume,” he said. “It should build confidence, expand professional networks and open doors to future opportunities. Lily, Faith and Dylan are wonderful examples of what can happen when talented students combine their University of Toledo education with real-world international experience. Their success demonstrates that Rocket Kids is not only changing lives for the children and families we serve — it is also changing the lives of the students who serve them.”
