The Minerva Fellows Program is an innovative, entrepreneurial global service program that illustrates Union's commitment to helping its students seek wisdom far beyond campus. The program is like Union's own version of the Peace Corps, offering new graduates a chance to travel abroad on a fellowship for their first year out of college and perform meaningful service opportunities for those in need throughout the world. The Minerva Fellows have a life-changing experience that also makes a real impact in their host communities.
Each winter, a selection committee chooses several graduating seniors, based on the best student applications, to receive a scholarship to devote eleven months of their lives working with a social entrepreneurial organization in a developing country. Upon their return to the U.S., the Fellows come back to Union and live in their former Minerva house for one month. During that month, they participate in a social entrepreneurship course and educate current Union College students about their experiences.
Some of our in-country partners for the Minerva Fellows program include:
- Engeye in Southern Uganda
- The McCord Hospital in Durban, South Africa
- The Global Child in Siem Reap, Cambodia
- The Yanapuma Foundation in Ecuador
The 2012 Minerva Fellows:
- Amanda Greenberg, Ian Schwartz (The Globa Child)
- Alagra Bass, Sarah Gagnon, Aaron Glosser (Yanapuma Foundation)
- Alexis Deeb, Matthew Kelleher (Engeye Health Clinic)
- Shalini Singaravelu (McCord Hospital)
- Jessica Sarrantonio (Bagru Textiles)
View their photographs on this page.
