People, Politics, and Places Fellowship
The People, Politics, and Places Fellowship is predicated on the reality that America has become increasingly polarized geopolitically. While Stanford makes significant efforts to foster civil discourse on campus, the Stanford community does not represent the full geographic and political diversity within the United States. In particular, opportunities to bridge the politically divergent urban-rural divide are relatively rare. The Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) seeks to address this shortcoming by piloting a new fellowship program designed to facilitate and support meaningful engagement with rural communities, particularly among students who have had little exposure to rural life.
The overarching goals of this fellowship are to a) develop an understanding of American institutions in a rural context; b) expand understanding of domestic rural life and c) develop the capacity for engaging constructively when encountering differences among people, politics, and places.
Students will participate in preparatory workshops during the spring 2025 quarter. During the summer, fellows will be embedded within and serve as interns with organizations operating in rural and remote places.
Student internships will take place in one of three rural locations, in Alaska, California, or Wisconsin.
Applicants must be:
- enrolled at Stanford for the winter and spring quarters of the 2024–25 academic year;
- be in good academic standing and not on suspension; and
- enrolled as a first-year, sophomore, or junior (from any academic discipline), or as a senior who will be returning for a co-term program during the following academic year. Graduate students are also eligible to apply.
Students who have begun their co-term programs are not eligible to apply. Priority will be given to students who have limited experience in rural communities.
REQUIREMENTS
- Selected fellows are expected to begin their internship following the completion of spring quarter classes and no later than July 7, 2025.
- All fellows are required to work with their community partners 35 to 40 hours per week for at least eight consecutive weeks.
- Fellows are expected to work on site at their host organization location.
- Fellows will have a designated full-time professional staff member on site as their supervisor and mentor.
- Tom Schnaubelt will serve as an on-campus mentor.
Other fellowship commitments include the following:
Spring Quarter
- Help plan and participate in a series of preparatory workshops.
- Design a personal learning plan and share it with the community partner supervisor and mentor and the on-campus mentor, including at least one question about rural life and institutions you hope to explore during your internship.
Summer
- Submit a brief preliminary report.
- Submit a final report outlining lessons learned about rural institutions.
- Complete a program evaluation as requested by the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions.
Fall Quarter
- Meet with on-campus mentor (Tom Schnaubelt) at least once.
- Participate in outreach activities to share the experience and help publicize the program (should the pilot be extended).
