After a record number of applications, a packed week of back-to-back interviews, and a rigorous selection process, the Gephardt Institute announces its largest class of St. Louis Fellows in the program’s nearly 20-year history.
“WashU is in St. Louis and for St. Louis,” said Executive Director Stephanie Kurtzman. “The St. Louis Fellows Program offers a transformative pathway for students to contribute to the progress and vitality of the St. Louis region, and prepare for a lifetime of civic leadership wherever they live and work in the future. Student interest in this opportunity is at a record high, and thanks to generous contributions from our supporters, we’re pleased to expand the program once again to meet the burgeoning interest of both students and our St. Louis community partners.”
This summer, 45 St. Louis Fellows, comprised of first year, sophomore, and junior students at WashU, will delve into deep learning and engagement with the region in partnership with more St. Louis organizations than ever before.
“In the last three years alone, the program has more than doubled in size from 22 in 2022, which means that more WashU students will have the opportunity to engage with St. Louis through full-time internships and experiential learning,” said Community Engagement Manager Sarah Nash, who leads the St. Louis Fellows Program. “It also means that more local nonprofit and civic organizations will have increased capacity over the summer to advance their mission-critical work.”
As part of their experience, the 2025 St. Louis Fellows will participate in spring training workshops — the first of which is tomorrow, March 1 — to acclimate them to community engagement best practices and prepare them to work with local communities and the nonprofit and government organizations that serve them. Then this summer, the Fellows will each work full-time at these organizations, or with WashU initiatives focused on St. Louis with attention to mission-critical efforts.
Thanks to the generosity of the St. Louis Fellows Program’s supporters, this work comes at no cost to St. Louis organizations — while the students are each provided a stipend of $7,500 (or more, based on the students’ financial needs) to aid with living expenses for the summer.
But in the meantime, Nash noted that she’s thrilled to get to know the new class of Fellows better — at events like a Fellows Welcome social last Monday — and to learn about the ways they’ll impact St. Louis.
“Getting to know this year’s cohort of St. Louis Fellows through their written applications and their interviews, I feel truly inspired by each of their unique passions, as well as their shared interest in deepening their relationship with WashU’s hometown and positively contributing to the St. Louis region,” she said. “We’re also pleased with the record number of St. Louis organizations that have expressed interest in hosting a Fellow. Our community partners and WashU departmental partners are essential to the success of the St. Louis Fellows Program and its ability to fuel positive impact in St. Louis.
In the coming weeks, the names and biographies of the new St. Louis Fellows cohort will be available on the St. Louis Fellows webpage.
The St. Louis Fellows Program is made possible by generous donations to the Gephardt Institute. If you would like to make a gift to support the St. Louis Fellows Program, please click here or contact Stephanie Kurtzman, Executive Director, at GephardtAdvancement@wustl.edu.