The American Whig-Cliosophic Society will announce on Monday the recipients of the society’s Summer Fellowship in Public Service, a grant of $3,500 given to three students to subsidize the cost of an unpaid internship this summer.
The fellowship, funded by the Whig-Clio Board of Trustees, is restricted to Whig-Clio members, president Matthew Saunders ’15 said. However, Saunders added that the applicants come from all walks of life, are concentrating in different areas and are pursuing internships in Washington, D.C. and other places.
Whig-Clio Chief of Staff Ryan Low ’16 said that the fellowship is aimed at students who want to be in the public service sector after they graduate. Low cited policy advising for the Department of State and program-directing at a nonprofit organization as examples.
Important factors that were taken into consideration included the value of the activity in which the applicants were interested and how well they had thought about that activity, according to Keith Whittington, a politics professor and one of the judges for the competition. Whittington added that a connection between an applicant’s summer plans and his or her experiences at the University is useful.
The application process for the fellowship took place in two stages, Low said. In the first stage, applicants sent in a 120-word email in which they described their service to Whig-Clio. The second stage required applicants to send in a resume, personal statement, letter of recommendation and budget for the upcoming summer, according to Low.
Low also mentioned that this summer fellowship is, to the knowledge of the Whig-Clio Executive Council, the first of its kind in the country. Before this year, no organization completely run by students had provided fellowships and funding to students for unpaid summer internships.
The idea for the fellowship originated last summer when Saunders was running for president, Low said. He explained that during Saunders’ campaign, the members of Whig-Clio had a discussion on how the organization could provide resources directly to students, and Saunders suggested providing fellowships. Low added that many of the most desirable internships, such as those for nonprofit organizations and government, are unpaid. By introducing this fellowship, Whig Clio could “make the internships more accessible to people who otherwise couldn’t afford to do them,” he said.
Low also said that offering this summer fellowship could raise Whig-Clio’s campus profile. He added that the organization is the country’s oldest debating and literary society.
Saunders also explained the difficulty of funding unpaid internships as a reason for the establishment of the fellowship. He added that he and Low began work on the fellowship program before Saunders became president, and Saunders made sure to complete it when he assumed his post.
“I had no more important campaign promise than this fellowship,” Saunders said.
Saunders said he hoped that the project will expand in the future. He described 2013 as “a preliminary year,” adding he hopes that Whig-Clio will be able to offer more than three $3,500 fellowships in the future and to pair its fellowships with some internships.
“We’re very excited for this project,” Low said, “and we hope this sets a precedent for other student organizations.”
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