The 2024 St. Louis Fellows have completed their spring training, immersive and experiential symposia that help equip them with the community engagement tools and knowledge to contribute to change efforts in the region this summer.
With the program expanding to a record 40 Fellows this year, Community Engagement Manager Sarah Nash was grateful that the three day-long sessions — held on Saturdays at different locations in St. Louis — gave the opportunity for her to get to know the students better.
“It’s been an absolute joy to get to know the 2024 cohort of St. Louis Fellows through our three spring trainings over the past two months,” Nash said. “Their excitement and genuine desire to contribute to local non-profit and civic organizations this summer, build relationships with each other, and deepen their engagement with St. Louis is contagious.”
On March 23, the St. Louis Fellows gathered at Stix House for the first spring training to learn more about the Gephardt Institute and to the institute’s Framework for Effective Community Engagement. A variety of small and large group activities helped Fellows begin the process of getting to know each other, by co-creating group agreements and discussion norms, sharing their fears and hopes for the Fellows program, and enjoying lunch from Lona’s Lil Eats. After lunch, Associate Director for Community Engagement Sam Babb led a workshop highlighting best practices for engaging with community partners during the Fellows’ internship search and selection process.
For the second spring training on April 6, Fellows traveled to the Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being in the Covenant Blu Grand Center neighborhood of St. Louis. They participated in an interactive workshop about navigating conflict and engaging across difference led by Nash and learned about “artivism” and community-engaged art from Adam Flores, the 2024 St. Louis Fellows Program Facilitator. While enjoying sandwiches from Gramophone, the Fellows met with and listened to Audrey Ellermann, the Chair of the Covenant Blu Grand Center Neighborhood Association, who spoke about the neighborhood’s history, the Association’s current work and priorities, and her hopes for the future.
For the final spring training on April 20, the Fellows visited the Missouri History Museum where they were invited to interrogate their own and others’ narratives about St. Louis. Theydug beneath the surface to see the interconnected nature of St. Louis’ history, culture, politics, and contemporary challenges and opportunities. After their museum visit, the Fellows took the Metro to WashU’s Medical Campus for a lunch panel with recent St. Louis Fellows Program Alumni. This provided current Fellows with an opportunity to connect with and learn from the experiences, tips, challenges, and insights of past Fellows. The third and final spring training closed with a brief presentation about summer housing, transportation, and academic credit considerations, as well as program logistics, as it was the last time that the Fellows would be together as a full group until the kick-off retreat on June 2.
“I’m looking forward to learning from and with this year’s Fellows as they both transform, and are transformed by, the St. Louis region,” Nash said.
The St. Louis Fellows Program is offered annually to select WashU undergraduates and is made possible by generous donations to the Gephardt Institute. Learn more here. If you are interested in applying or nominating a student for the program, applications will be available online starting in early November. If you would like to make a gift to support the St. Louis Fellows Program, please contact Colleen Watermon at cwatermon@wustl.edu.