During the COVID pandemic, Aditya Yelamali ’24 was worried that patients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital lacked interaction and stimuli that could help them heal. Yelamali, a 2023 Fandos Fellow in the St. Louis Fellows program, created Hearts for Arts as a patient-driven solution that would transcend the pandemic. “We coordinated with Melody Deweese, a […]
Category: St. Louis Fellowship Program
Spring trainings equip St. Louis Fellows with community-engaged best practices
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 […]
Institute announces new classes of Civic Scholars, St. Louis Fellows
A record number of WashU students committed to leading change now and throughout their lives by joining the Gephardt Institute’s Civic Scholars and St. Louis Fellows programs. The announcement of the new cohorts of civic leadership programs follows a recruitment cycle that began last fall and saw more applications than ever before. “We’re particularly excited […]
Notables: trubel&co; Da’Juantay Wynter; Spectrum Awards
Gephardt-involved WashU students and alumni — including Student Engagement Specialist Sophie Devincenti, Donovan Dixson ’24, Sophie Lin ’26, Nick Okafor ’16, Aspen Schisler ‘26, Charlie Shaw ’24, Laken Sylvander ‘17, Pat Wang ’24, and Da’Juantay Wynter ‘26 — were honored recently for their civic engagement efforts and community contributions. The U.S. National Science Foundation announced […]
Students build on community impact with Partnership Extension grants
Last month with the launch of the St. Louis Impact Fund, the Gephardt Institute introduced Partnership Extension Grants. Civic Scholars and St. Louis Fellows spend the majority of their summer during the programs cultivating relationships with community partners to impact change. The Partnership Extension Grants help students maintain these connections and continue with important projects […]
Tori Harwell ‘24 named a Rhodes Scholar
For Victoria “Tori” Harwell ’24, a 2022 St. Louis Fellow, their stellar success invokes not only celebration, but also reflection on the monumental hurdles their ancestors faced to create opportunities for their descendants. On Saturday, Nov. 11, at an announcement event in Washington, D.C., Harwell learned that they were one of just 32 students in […]
Fellows build community while becoming champions for St. Louis
The 2023 St. Louis Fellows shared their experiences and learning from their summer internships with local nonprofit and government organizations. It was part of Civic Action Week held this month. Community partners, family, friends, supporters, and the WashU community were invited to the first St. Louis Fellows Showcase, held on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at Stix […]
Alumni Spotlight: Tishiya “T” Carey ’21
“It’s important to continue to build on things, it’s important to understand the context. It’s important to fully understand, I think, the impact of what it is that you want to do, what it is you’re trying to do, and how you’re trying to do it.” After graduating from WashU in 2021, Tishiya “T” Carey […]
STL Fellow finds illumination on local government in summer internship
“Behind an elected official is an army of individuals who dedicate their time, and have genuine interest, in improving the communities they represent and live in…I have a newfound respect and admiration for all of these individuals.” These are just a couple of the lessons that Goldman Fellow Jesse Sanchez ’25 learned through the St. […]
MAAY Foundation, Gephardt Fellows uplifting Asian American communities
In 2019, Caroline Fan, a passionate St. Louis visionary and organizer, founded the Missouri Asian American Youth (MAAY) Foundation. Fan was driven by a powerful desire to uplift marginalized communities through education and opportunity. As president of the MAAY Foundation, she leads the creation of an organized voice for the AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, […]
Immersion trips for Fellows offer in-depth experiences in STL neighborhoods
As a part of their commitment to serve St. Louis effectively and responsibly, Gephardt Institute’s 2023 St. Louis Fellows listen and learn from local St. Louisans through Engage STL Days, where they visit local neighborhoods and hear from community members. The institute’s 33 fellows had the opportunity to interact with two cultural hubs in St. […]
Fellows impact STL by day, build strong friendships by night
What are Gephardt Institute’s Civic Scholars and Fellows doing in the evening when they’re not actively pursuing community and social impact? The answers are every bit as interesting and diverse as the students who offer them. For Demarion Delaney, a St. Louis Fellow, time away from work means time working on the “two man whole.” […]
Alumni Spotlight: Burton transforming education and philanthropy
For Ryan Burton, working at the intersections of education, philanthropy, and community development helped land him a spot at Harvard. Burton is a candidate in the Doctor of Education Leadership program, which utilizes a cohort model taught by faculty from three different Harvard schools and is designed for those pursuing vocations in systems-level leadership in […]
Alumni Spotlight: Underwood charts journey from WashU to the White House
From her undergraduate origins at WashU to her role with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy team in San Francisco, Karin Underwood’s civic journey is a powerful example of a life dedicated to civic engagement. Each experience has served as an impactful cornerstone that paved her way to the White House and […]
Fellows supporting St. Louis, building civic skills through local organizations
“It takes time to heal from the trauma of gun violence,” Dr. LJ Punch, the founder of the Bullet Related Injury Clinic, told St. Louis Public Radio at the end of 2022. “Unfortunately, in St. Louis, bullet-related injury is endemic,” Punch said. “It brings up all the other traumas that you didn’t get the chance […]
Gephardt staff share institute’s best practices with colleagues around nation
This month, a group of Gephardt Institute staff and WashU Votes leadership traveled to Boston, Mass. for the annual Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Meeting (CLDE). The annual conference is hosted by NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and is designed to convene diverse stakeholders committed to advancing democracy through student preparedness for engaged […]
St. Louis Fellows’ first days on the job
The 2023 St. Louis Fellows—the largest group ever, with 33 students representing the WashU Classes of 2024, 2025 and 2026—began their summer internships with 29 organizations in the St. Louis region at the beginning of June. Their internships involve analyzing data about marginalized populations, meeting with local officials about legislation, working with patients with Alzheimer’s and […]
Fond farewells for 2023 graduates
On Monday, May 15, the Gephardt Institute joined the Washington University community in congratulating the Class of 2023 on their hard work—much of it under the trials of the COVID pandemic—and their collective commitment to the betterment of our world.
Nash well suited for Gephardt community engagement role
In what might be a perfect match between a job description and an employee, Sarah Nash is the Gephardt Institute’s Community Engagement Manager. Since joining the Gephardt Institute in July 2022, Nash leads program strategy and implementation to foster mutually beneficial community engagement between WashU students and community partners in the St. Louis region. Nash […]