Announcing Two Dwight Hall Fellowships for the Fall

Dwight Hall is excited to announce two fellowship opportunities for the fall: Community Response Fellows, back for a third year, and Member Group Fellows, in its inaugural semester. Both fellowships aim to support students who maintain active relationships with community partners.  

The Community Response Fellowship originated in the fall of 2020 as a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing calls for anti-racism locally and domestically. Operating remotely since March of 2020, Dwight Hall was left with a limited capacity to track students’ involvement with community partners. 

In response, Dwight Hall launched the Community Response Fellows program to support students already working with community partners on pressing societal issues. To be considered, students filled out an application and submitted a letter of support from their community partner. Selected Fellows then received a Service Award for the semester, in addition to a cohort of peers and professional platforms for reflection, communication, and personal development. The Fellowship sought to support students throughout the academic year, when there were typically fewer opportunities for students to be compensated for their work with community partners.  

Now entering its third year, Community Response Fellows continues to grow and adapt to the needs of students and community partners. “Opportunities like the Community Response Fellows allow Dwight Hall to support both students and community partners,” noted Mark Fopeano, Dwight Hall’s Director of Programming & Evaluation. “It is important for community partners to know they can invest time into training and supervising a student whose involvement with an organization will be supported beyond a singular summer or semester-long experience.” 

The Member Group Fellows program was born of a similar sentiment to the Community Response Fellows. Dwight Hall recognizes that many Yale students enter relationships with community partners through Dwight Hall’s member groups, where they commit themselves to doing real work with community partners every single week. “Essentially, these students are doing the work of Fellows without the same level of support, and often without formally occupying the roles of student organization leaders,” observed Mark. 

For these reasons, the Member Group Fellows program aims to support students–particularly those on financial aid–who have established relationships with community partners via their member groups. By providing a financial incentive, a cohort of peers, and professional support, the fellowship aims to lower barriers for students to choose community engagement as an extracurricular activity and eventually a career path. 

“Leaving the pandemic, Dwight Hall is committed to being an asset to both students and community partners,” concluded Mark. “We hope to create sustainable relationships that go beyond just one semester or year, and facilitate long-term relationships that are equitable on both sides.” 

The initial deadline for the Fall 2022 application cycle for both fellowships is Monday, October 3rd, after which applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Visit Dwight Hall’s Opportunities page to learn more and apply.