FOR UNIVERSITIES
Cultivating diversity, inclusion &
belonging through fellowships
CONSULTING
MISSION
Fellowship Trek helps colleges, universities and non-profits support diverse students applying for competitive fellowships, scholarships and grants for graduate school, research and study abroad.
SERVICES
Fellowship Trek advises client organizations on:
INCLUSIVE FELLOWSHIP DESIGN
- Creating fellowship programs that center diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging.
- Conducting outreach through academic institutions and directly to students to recruit a diverse applicant pool.
- Strategies for building and sustaining diverse applicant pipelines.
- Ensuring access and equity in the fellowship application submission and selection process.
- Recruiting and managing selection committees and finalist interviews.
- Providing fellows with culturally relevant curricula and mentoring.
- Organizing energizing and meaningful convenings, conferences and alumni events.
FUNDING WORKSHOP FACILITATION
- Fellowship Trek facilitates interactive funding workshops for graduate and undergraduate students that strengthens their abilities to reflect on their values, experiences, and goals, and hone their proposal writing skills. Workshops include the Statement of Purpose/Research Proposal and the Personal Statement for a variety of awards including the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, Mellon/ACLS, Ford, Pickering, Rangel, NSF-GRFP, Boren Awards, study abroad scholarships and others.
RECRUITING & ADVISING APPLICANTS
- Fellowship presentations and information sessions for:
- Honors programs, student affinity groups, clubs and professional organizations.
- Incoming first year and transfer students and their families.
- Faculty and staff.
- Individual and group advising to help students:
- Research and identify fellowships, scholarships, grants, awards, and other opportunities that fit their educational and career goals.
- Think strategically about which fellowships to apply for.
- Set up a timeline for their applications, including drafting and revising essays, seeking feedback, and requesting letters of recommendation.
- Obtain strong letters of recommendation.
- Practice for fellowship interviews.
FELLOWSHIP EVALUATION
- Designing surveys that measure fellows’ professional and personal growth during the award term.
- Culturally responsive and participatory evaluation methods.
- Data analysis, reporting and grant writing.
SUPPORTED FELLOWSHIPS INCLUDE:
AAUW Fellowships
Boren Awards
Critical Language Scholarships
DAAD RISE Germany
Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship
Ford Foundation Fellowships
Freeman Asia
Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship
Fulbright U.S. Student Program Study/Research
Gilman Scholarship
Goldwater Scholarship
Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers
Marshall Scholarship
Mellon/ACLS Fellowships
Mitchell Scholarship
NOAA Hollings and EPP/MSI Scholarships
NSF-GRFP
Payne Fellowship
Pickering Fellowship
Rangel Fellowship
Ralph Bunche Institute
Rhodes Scholarship
Schwarzman Scholarship
SSRC Fellowships
Truman Scholarship
Udall Scholarship
WW Dissertation Fellowship in Women’s Studies
And more…
WHAT WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS ARE SAYING:
“I was very nervous about writing essays for fellowships, scholarships and other programs, but now I feel way more confident. Thank you for this program, this is the best thing I could have done!”
“This program helped me narrow down which scholarships to apply for. It helped me write better and focus on what they are asking instead of feeling overwhelmed.”
This program “helped me reshape my personal statement and actually make it personal so I can better connect with the people who will read it.”
This program “changed the way I approach my personal statement. I had never [spent] as much time planning or organizing my writing process before. The program provided resources that enhanced my brainstorming, editing, and revising.”
WHAT ADVISEES ARE SAYING:
-Aylin Duarte, Fulbright Grantee to Argentina
-Morgan Robledo, University of Texas at El Paso Graduate
ABOUT MELANIE MEINZER, PH.D.
Dr. Meinzer (she/her) has a Ph.D. in Political Science from The University of Connecticut and previously directed the British Marshall Scholarship in New England. She also directed a suite of fellowships intended to diversify the professoriate, including post-baccalaureate fellowships for the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program and the Career Enhancement Fellowships for Junior Faculty at the Institute for Citizens and Scholars (formerly the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation). As a former Boren Fellow (West Bank) and Critical Language Scholarship (Arabic) awardee, she enjoys helping students connect their passion and purpose to fellowships. Dr. Meinzer served as a Fulbright Program Adviser and mentored hundreds of students in her role as Director of National and International Fellowships at The University of Texas at El Paso, a Hispanic-serving top research university. Her students have won Fulbright, Boren, NSF-GRFP, Gilman Scholarships and other honors. Dr. Meinzer held a Consortium for Faculty Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowship at Denison University, an American Council of Learned Societies Leading Edge Postdoctoral Fellowship at The Center for Cultural Power, and a Dissertation Fellowship at UCONN’s Humanities Institute. Her writing on international development, climate change, and culturally responsive mentoring appears in academic publications, and in Jadaliyya, Alliance Magazine and Inside Higher Ed.
Curriculum Vitae | Media | Op-ed: Closing the Fellowship Diversity Gap
Contact
Contact Fellowship Trek using the form below or e-mail consulting [at] fellowshiptrek [dot] com.
