The St. Louis Fellows Program is a unique opportunity for WashU undergraduates to dedicate a summer to St. Louis with peers from across schools and majors who want to learn from and contribute to the St. Louis region beyond their classrooms.
Through this competitive program, undergraduate students spend a summer immersing themselves in St. Louis by working full-time nonprofit or civic internships, attending a range of community events, and engaging in an experiential curriculum to understand St. Louis’ history, culture, politics, challenges, and opportunities.
Each St. Louis Fellow receives professional development, structured supervision and mentoring, and a $6,500 base stipend in lieu of summer earnings. Additionally, St. Louis Fellows with families of $75,000 or less in total parent income will receive a $1,000 supplemental stipend.
Congrats to the 2024 St. Louis Fellows!
Click on names below to learn more about each Fellow. To view alumni, click here.
Interest Areas
The St. Louis Fellows Program welcomes students with a variety of interest areas, many of whom search for and confirm their own community partner organization to work with throughout the summer as Goldman Fellows and Mosbacher Fellows. The program also has opportunities for students who are interested in specific topics to partner with pre-selected organizations or issues through on-going community partnerships with the Gephardt Institute. Students who wish to be considered for interest-specific opportunities will be asked to complete additional application questions to illustrate alignment with the area.
The Goldman Fellows Program is a cohort of students within the St. Louis Fellows program. Goldman Fellows search for and confirm their own nonprofit, community, or governmental organizations in the St. Louis region to work with throughout the summer. The Goldman Fellows Program was founded in 2008 through generous funding from the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation, inspired the growth of the St. Louis Fellows Program, and is the first endowed cohort of St. Louis Fellows.
Arts as Civic Engagement (ACE) Fellows are a group of students within the St. Louis Fellows Program. These four fellows are placed with pre-selected regional arts organizations, including the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM), Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, The Griot Museum for Black History, and COCA – The Center of Creative Arts.
More information and view Arts as Civic Engagement Fellows alumni.
Democracy Fellows are a group of students within the St. Louis Fellows Program. These five fellows are placed with pre-selected non-partisan and bi-partisan community partner organizations that advance democracy — its principles, its preservation, and its continued improvement to achieve its high ideals. Democracy Fellows work to extend the capacity of democracy-focused organizations in the St. Louis region and across the state of Missouri working in areas critical to the advancement of democracy — such as voting access, developing new policy initiatives, and working in local government offices.
Morris Fellows In Equity and Access to Alzheimer’s and Dementia Response are a group of students within the St. Louis Fellows Program. These three fellows partner with the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter and work within one of, or across, the Association’s three pillars: Care and Support, Concern and Awareness, and Public Policy.
More information and view Dr. John C. Morris Fellows alumni.
The Mosbacher Fellows are a group of students within the St. Louis Fellows program. Mosbacher Fellows search for and confirm their own nonprofit, community, or governmental organizations in the St. Louis region to work with throughout the summer.
Many St. Louis Fellows search for and confirm their own nonprofit, community, or government organizations in the St. Louis region to work with throughout the summer. These include Goldman Fellows, Mosbacher Fellows, and other named fellows.
The WUPan (Washington University Pride Alliance Network) Fellow is a student within the St. Louis Fellows Program. This fellow will partner with a St. Louis based LGBTQ+ organizations to advance mission critical-work aimed at attending to the specific needs of the local LGBTQ+ population.
Program Timeline
Application: The 2024 application period opened on Nov. 13, 2023 and closed on January 19, 2023 at 9 p.m. CT.
Interviews: Selected students were interviewed by a selection committee in early February 2024 and final decisions were made in March 2024.
Spring 2024: In March 2024, St. Louis Fellows began attending trainings to prepare for their full-time summer internship. With the support of Gephardt Institute staff, Fellows will also research and meet with community partner organizations in St. Louis whose missions align with their civic, academic, and/or professional interests in order to confirm an internship and summer learning agreement with one organization.
Summer 2024: Fellows will attend an overnight retreat the first week of June and begin their full-time work with a community partner organization on June 10 and concluding on August 16, for a total of 10 weeks. They will participate in weekly seminars to support skill-building, professional development, self-awareness, and connections to St. Louis. Additionally, Fellows will attend community events and participate in neighborhood immersion trips across St. Louis to get to know the St. Louis community more deeply and reinforce their cohort bonds.
Fall 2024: In October, Fellows will present about their summer internship experiences at the St. Louis Fellows Showcase. This includes individual poster presentations and small group powerpoint presentations.
Criteria
Are you a first-year, sophomore, or junior at WashU interested in deepening your knowledge of St. Louis and building your skills for civic and community engagement?
Undergraduate WashU students who will still be students in Fall 2024 are invited to apply for the St. Louis Fellows program. This includes international students, students currently studying abroad, and students who are in a 3-2 program. Students who are graduating in May 2024 are not eligible to apply.
The St. Louis Fellows program has dozens of community partners working across the region in many different areas, including the arts, public health, racial equity, environmental justice, LGBTQ+ advocacy, education, and more! With the support of Gephardt staff, Fellows will secure full-time, 10-week summer internships that align with their civic passions and career interests. In lieu of summer earnings, each St. Louis Fellow will receive a $6,500 base stipend to help offset living costs and expenses. Students with families of $75,000 or less in total parent income will receive a $1,000 supplemental stipend. To check your eligibility for the supplemental stipend, contact your SFS Counselor.
St. Louis Fellows will learn about and engage with St. Louis’ history and culture through an experiential curriculum that integrates classroom learning with off-campus experiences. The program requires three trainings in spring 2024, an overnight retreat to kick-off the summer intensive, weekly seminars and/or community events during 10-week summer internships, and culminating events in fall 2024.
Program alumni often share that one of the best parts of being a St. Louis Fellow is the friendships they build with their “fellow Fellows.” Because the program is open to all undergraduate students across years, schools, and majors, fellows often meet and build relationships with students who they wouldn’t have met otherwise at WashU. And, because of the nature of the program, the fellows end up spending a lot of time together, reflecting on their internship experiences, sharing delicious local meals, and exploring St. Louis!
At the Gephardt Institute, we work to equip students with the knowledge, skills, experience, and commitment for lifelong civic engagement, in St. Louis or wherever they may go. Through a full-time internship and Gephardt programming, St. Louis Fellows explore ways to be civically engaged students, community members, and professionals, and our hope is that they take what they learn and apply it to their future lives and careers.
Throughout the program, Fellows will engage with Gephardt staff, internship supervisors, guest speakers, and community members who are excited to share experiences and expertise and to help the Fellows discern potential pathways to achieve civic, academic, and professional pursuits. Fellows will also participate in a variety of skill-building workshops and facilitated activities during the spring trainings, overnight retreat, and summer seminars.
Program Goals
- Develop student civic leaders by identifying and honing civic skills, cultivating self-awareness and social analysis, providing experiential learning to complement academic endeavors, and offering structured supervision and mentorship to advance clarity and preparedness to pursue civic impact goals.
- Support positive community impact in St. Louis by expanding the capacity of local partner organizations to advance their mission-critical work by preparing and funding students for full- time summer internships and facilitating opportunities for collaboration across community partner organizations.
- Foster civic learning and engagement among students through immersion in St. Louis, engagement with civic and community leaders, and reflection and dialogue in a cohort of peers with diverse identities, backgrounds, and perspectives.
Outcomes for Fellows
Deeper awareness and appreciation for the value of diverse identities, experiences, ideas, and perspectives.
Professional skills and knowledge of best practices that will enhance their contributions to their internship organization and future professional communities.
Affinity for St. Louis as a citizen of the region, ability to recognize their role and capacity as civic agents within the community.
Clarity of career interests, goals, resources, and pathways, informed by the application of the St. Louis Fellows’ experiences to their academic and professional pursuits.
Have questions? Email Sarah Nash, Community Engagement Manager, at srnash@wustl.edu.
2023 Community Partner Internship Sites
This map is interactive! Click on the dots below to learn more about our community partner host sites and the fellows who worked there this summer.
Click here to view the accessible version of this interactive content
St. Louis Fellows Cohorts and Alumni
Visit our St. Louis Fellows Alumni Page.
The Goldman Fellows Program started in 2008 and inspired the growth of the St. Louis Fellows Program. Funded by the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation, 173 Goldman Fellows have dedicated their summer to St. Louis since 2008. Click here to learn about our Goldman Fellows Program alumni from 2008-2022.
Arts as Civic Engagement started in 2018 as a platform for students to immerse in arts-based community engagement through partnerships with regional arts organizations. Click here to learn about our Arts as Civic Engagement alumni from 2018-2022.
The Dr. John C. Morris Fellows Program started in 2021 and is a partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Missouri Chapter focusing on Equity and Access to Alzheimer’s and Dementia Response. Click here to learn about our Morris Fellows Program alumni from 2021-2022.