Applications are now being accepted for a new fellowship program that aims to help build skills, leadership and a sense of community among female student veterans.
The Focus Forward Fellowship program, designed by the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University, invites applications from rising military-connected sophomores and juniors who are enrolled in four-year colleges and universities. The program will be held Aug. 11-14 in Indianapolis, with additional web-based activities scheduled throughout the 2016-2017 academic year.
This is a free, weekend-long residency program. In it, Fellows will work together to increase personal effectiveness, building a potentially transformative community experience that can translate to their home campus and continue to impact them throughout their academic and professional careers. The program will build skills and confidence through interactions with other successful students, faculty members and advocates, as Fellows learn and improve their academic skills so that they can thrive in the university setting.
"Women currently account for 16 percent of active-duty service personnel, according to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics," said Lauren Runco, MFRI's director of education and employment. "We know that 82 percent of post-9/11 female veterans joined the military to receive education benefits. At MFRI, we're committed to helping these leaders transition to the next phase of their lives by connecting them with resources that strengthen and guide them. We are confident the Focus Forward Fellowship program can do that."
Apply for the Focus Forward Fellowship program by visiting www.mfri.purdue.edu/FWDFellows. Applications will be accepted through June 19th. For more information, contact Runco at lrunco@purdue.edu or call 765-496-3403. Connect with MFRI online at @MFRIPurdue and use #FWDFellows to join the conversation.
Sponsorship opportunities for this fellowship are also available. To learn more, contact Jennifer Shirley at JTShirley@prf.org.