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| AQ Community Fellows |
| Civic engagement, leadership, and service are central components of an AQ education and Catholic social thought. The college mission includes an emphasis on “career preparation focused on leadership and service to others” that is evident in the curriculum and co-curricular programming. |
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| AQ Community Fellows are first-year college students with a major or interest in majoring in one of the social sciences. Fellows are either first-generation college students* or Pell Grant eligible. |
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| Being selected as an AQ Community Fellow provides the student with: |
- 260 hours of community-based paid work experience during their first year
- Regular meetings with the other AQ Fellows and faculty members
- Mentoring opportunities with a faculty advisor in the social sciences
- Recognition of your role as a current and future community leader
- A $1,000 AmeriCorps Education Award upon completion of the fellowship
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| AQ Community Fellowships Include Four Components |
| The goal of the fellowship is encouraging students to engage in their education, their campus, and their community. To support engagement, fellows complete activities in four areas: |
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| Team building and peer support: During the course of their first year, AQ Community Fellows participate in regular cohort meetings. These meetings focus on the activities fellows are pursuing both in and outside of their courses; obstacles to academic success; maneuvering through what can be a difficult system of higher education; and leadership development. |
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| Coordinated faculty advising: Advisers for members of this group are encouraged to work closely with their AQ Fellow advisee. They are also provided with additional materials on advising from the project coordinator. |
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| Leadership education: Fellows complete the introductory course in Community Leadership as a cohort in their second semester. CL100, Introduction to Community Leadership, is a three-credit semester course introducing students to the concepts of community, civic engagement, and leadership. |
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| Community engagement: As part of the AQ Community Fellowship, students commit 300 hours over the course of the academic year to their fellowship. This includes 10 hours per week of paid student employment time in a community-based organization, and developing and implementing a team community service project during Spring Semester. AQ Community Fellows become agents of civic engagement by recruiting at least 35 other Aquinas College students to participate in the project. |
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| Fellows who successfully complete all four fellowship components receive a $1,000 AmeriCorps education award through the Midwest Campus Compact Consortium. |
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| Eligibility |
| To receive an AQ Community Fellowship you must meet the following criteria: |
- First year college student
- Majoring or interested in majoring in Sociology, Psychology, Political Science, Communication, or Geography
- First generation college student* OR Pell Grant Eligible
- Demonstrated commitment tocommunity engagement and leadership development
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| Applications are being accepted through December 19, 2008 for one-year AQ Community Fellowships. |
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| >>Download the AQ Community Fellows Application (pdf) |
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| For more information about the AQ Community Fellows, contact: |
Dr. Kathy Kremer
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Academic Building (AB) 24C
Aquinas College
1607 Robinson Road SE
Grand Rapids MI 49506
Phone: (616) 632-2078
E-mail: kremekat@aquinas.edu |
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* First generation is defined as those whose parents did not complete a bachelor’s degree. |
