Five juniors win WWS fellowship

The Wilson School informed five juniors last week that they had won the first-ever Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative scholarships. The winners are Kim Bonner, Jordan Reimer, Ishani Sud, Lilian Timmerman and Eugene Yi.

The formal announcement awaits Robertson Foundation approval at an April board meeting. Until then, the Wilson School will not confirm the names of the scholarship recipients.

Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 said that the winners would soon be attending a private celebration. All five scholarship recipients declined to comment or were unable to be reached yesterday.

Slaughter did not specify the number of applications the program received but said that she was pleased with the "broad range" and quality of the applicants.

"We could easily have given double the five [scholarships] that we had to give," she said.

Timmerman and Yi are Wilson School concentrators and Reimer is in the politics department. Bonner is majoring in molecular biology while Sud is a chemical engineer.

The selection committee looked for excellent academic performance, a track record of accomplishment and a commitment to government service in candidates for the program, according to its website.

Applicants who had backgrounds in public policy and international affairs and either the sciences or foreign languages — particularly less frequently studied languages — were given preference.

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"We put a special emphasis on science and technology and those who know hard languages," Slaughter said.

The Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative (SINSI), launched last year, awards scholarships to five juniors to pursue a career in the federal government. Upon acceptance into the program, the recipients will spend their remaining time at Princeton fulfilling their major and taking selected classes in public policy.

In the summer after their junior year, scholars intern with the federal government. After graduation, they serve in the federal government for two years. The scholars then return to the Wilson School to pursue a two-year Master in Public Affairs (MPA) degree.

Scholars spend two years working in government so that their graduate studies in the Wilson School are informed by their experience, Slaughter said. She added that students who have spent time working in government get more out of the MPA program and better grasp the value of what they learn.

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"We strongly encourage our MPA applicants to have at least two years' experience time out [working in government]," she said.

She noted that next year, the initiative will expand to offer five additional scholarships open to any college graduate.

These scholarships will also let recipients work in government for two years before they pursue an M.P.A. at the Wilson School.

SINSI works closely with Partnership for Public Service (PPS), a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., to match scholars with appropriate internships and jobs.

Tim McManus, the vice president of education and outreach for PPS, echoed Slaughter's belief that scholars benefit from spending time in the workforce before going to the Wilson School for an MPA.

"The reason it's designed as it is here is to give the spectrum of the federal employment world first," he said. "If you have a little more work experience under your belt ... it somewhat drives your focus during your graduate experience."

McManus explained that the partnership's role is mainly to help arrange the connection between scholars and the federal government. He described his organization's job as "simply to provide guidance and support in terms of putting [the SINSI] together."

"Our research shows that while there is a fairly high interest level in government, [college students'] knowledge and understanding of how they fit in is fairly low," McManus said.

"The partnership is really excited and honored to be working with the Wilson School," he added.

Slaughter also said that increasing the number of Princeton students in government would boost the perceived status of government work.

"They [the scholars] will have the effect of raising the prestige of government service," she said, "because you'll see some of the most talented kids around are going to spend two years after graduation in government service."

"The government needs as many Princeton students as we can send them," she added.