By Laken Franchetti, News Editor
The Eisenhower Institute is opening two opportunities to all students on campus: the Washington Summer Fellowship and the Inside Civil Rights study trip. These programs will align themselves with the college’s strategic plan to focus on career pathways and hands-on experiential learning. These programs will allow students to gain practical skills for public, private, and non-profit service.
This is the second year that the Eisenhower Institute will be running the Washington Summer Fellowship. Students will have the opportunity to live, learn and work in the nation’s capital. Fellows receive ten weeks of paid housing, career guidance, tours and weekly seminars on public policy and leadership. Students also will receive a travel stipend.
The Eisenhower Institute will help fellows to find and apply for internships in the metro DC area. Internships may take place at government offices, nonprofits, companies and other employers. These internships span focuses from science and technology to business, art, education, cultural studies and more.
Past participant Lauren Manning ’23 said, “Serving as an Eisenhower Fellow this summer has allowed me to make connections across complex policy fields.”
Candidates should demonstrate a career interest in a specific field and explain how working in the metro DC area furthers this interest. This opportunity will run from May 26 to August 4. Eight students will be selected.
The Inside Civil Rights study trip is a six-day opportunity to explore civil rights in America. Students will visit historic sites and meet experts of the movements in Memphis, Tennessee, Little Rock, Arkansas and Jackson, Mississippi. There will be a simulation of President Eisenhower’s decision to send federal troops to desegregate Central High School and a public policy project with the COFO Civil Rights Education Center at Jackson State University.
“You’re standing in these spots where people were being spit on, where people were being harassed, and where people were actively standing up against what was right,” said past participant Julia Swanson ’24. “You don’t understand the significance and the hardships of that until you’re here and you’re looking at it and you’re putting yourself in someone’s shoes.”
The application for this opportunity has been reopened, and five spots are available. This trip will run from May 7 to 12. First years, sophomores and juniors with an interest in civil rights are eligible to apply. All expenses are paid for.
A political science or public policy major is not required for either of these opportunities. The application deadline for both programs is February 12, 2023 at 11:59 p.m.
Eisenhower Institute Executive Director Tracie Potts emphasizes that these programs are open to all students.
“The personal and academic diversity of participants enhance the experience. We’re not looking for specific majors. We’re looking for students who can demonstrate to us that working in DC or traveling to the south to study Civil Rights will make them better citizens prepared to make a difference in the world,” said Potts.
