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Carlson Civic Fellows

The Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center supports the next generation of leaders through the Civic Fellows program.  Each Civic Fellow serves by making a commitment to a community-based organization and leads by engaging other students in public service, through service learning, one-day service projects, and community events.

*DOWNLOAD STUDENT APPLICATION:
Deadline has been extended to Wednesday, Oct. 21st at 5pm

Application Instructions:
Download the application form above. Provide information requested in the application, save the application (title the document using your last name), and email the application to engage@uw.edu by 5PM on Wednesday, Oct. 21st.
Email engage@uw.edu if you have any questions.

Selection Criteria
Selection of Carlson Civic Fellows will be based on information provided in the application and two tiered interview process. The first round of interviews will be group interviews conducted by Carlson Center staff. The second round of interviews will be conducted by community partner mentors who will be supervising Fellows in their projects.

Program Purpose

Carlson Civic Fellows will work with a community-based organization (CBO) to facilitate and increase capacity for other UW students to serve as volunteers, service-learners, and interns. Fellows will engage in a combination of direct-service, administrative support work, and leadership activities, receiving training and support tailored to their role in the community, and participating in a two-credit leadership development seminar during both Winter and Spring quarters.

Program Structure

Designed for sophomore, junior, and senior undergraduate students with an interest in community work and a strong commitment to developing themselves as leaders, the Carlson Civic Fellows program has received recognition as a prestigious opportunity at the University of Washington. Ideal Carlson Fellow applicants are emerging leaders who see work in the community as important and may not have had the opportunity to engage in long-term meaningful work under the support of a consistent mentor.

Carlson Civic Fellows spend an average of 15 hours per week on campus and community activities from November 2009 through June 2010, split as follows:

• 10 hours weekly with a local community-based organization
• 2 hours weekly in a community-based leadership seminar (WIN and SPR quarters); academic credit through General Studies is available
• 60 hours throughout the fellowship in additional leadership training and project coordination

Benefits

The Carlson Civic Fellowship seeks to enable all students--no matter what their economic situation--to make a commitment to community leadership. Financial support available is dependent upon financial need.

• Join a cohort of other student leaders with a desire to serve the community
• Receive personal advising and leadership development training from experienced educators in the community and at the Carlson Center
• Gain experience for your resume and personal development by working in a hands-on, real-world setting
• Work-study eligible students can earn $12/hour (visit the work-study office on the 5th floor of Schmitz Hall, room 520, or call (206)685-1985 to find out whether you are eligible to receive work-study pay)
• Non-work-study eligible students can earn a $750 cash stipend
• In addition to work-study pay or the paid stipend, all Carlson Civic Fellows are eligible to earn an Americorps education award through Students in Service ranging from $1000 to $2362 dependent on length of commitment (only available to US residents)

Priority Areas

Fellows will focus on the following priorities, though each community organization will develop their own specific set of expectations for the Fellowship role:

1) Increase the number of UW students that the organization has the capacity to host—as service-learners, volunteers, and/or interns.
Share a deeper understanding of the community organization with Carlson Center staff and a deeper understanding of the Carlson Center and UW as a whole with the community organization staff.

2) Lighten the administrative load for organization site supervisor(s) by organizing orientation sessions for UW student volunteers, collecting/processing volunteer paperwork, communicating with student volunteers about organization expectations, arranging student volunteer schedules, leading reflection sessions and individual check-in meetings, and/or posting service-learning volunteer positions for the organization. 

3) Support the organization in developing social networking and web 2.0 elements (ie. Facebook, YouTube videos, website development) that may raise awareness of their work and / or opportunities to serve.

4) Most importantly we hope that Carlson Civic Fellows will enable UW students to access service positions that contribute to the community and to the student’s learning about community engagement. 

Community-based Organizations: Hosting a Carlson Civic Fellow

Carlson Center is pleased to invite community-based organizations to host a University of Washington student through the Carlson Civic Fellowship program for the 2009-10 academic year. Through this Fellowship, the Carlson Center aims to build deeper partnerships with community-based organizations and to meet community needs while supporting students to develop tangible leadership skills. Project proposal applications include basic information about the community based organization and the project mentor; there are a series of seven short answer questions that address components of the program.

Organizations hosting Carlson Civic Fellows for the 2009-2010 Academic Year include:

• People for Puget Sound (focus on environmental service)
• Treehouse(focus on serving foster care children)
• Downtown Emergency Service Center (focus on serving homeless, particularly those with mental or addictive illnesses)
• Seward Park Environmental & Audubon Center (focus on environmental service)
• North Helpline (focus on poverty)

 

“Being a Civic Fellow allowed me to experience service from the inside out. 
I was able to work on a project in its infant phase and gain first-hand knowledge of the kind of effort that is needed to make a project successful. The seminars broadened my perspective of civic engagement and provided me with leadership skills that will definitely be useful in all aspects of my life. This entire experience has played an important role in shaping my future goals.”  

Kelly Ward, 2007 Civic Fellow
Community Project: 
Central Area Youth Council