You might not recognize the Summer Leadership Fellows program at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.

But it’s made up of four programs that you have probably heard of – the Fleischhacker Center for Ethical Leadership in Action, the John Brandl Scholars, the Marie and Robert Jackson Fellowship and the Global Health Fellows – at CSB/SJU.

The Summer Leadership Fellows program provides opportunities for students to engage in 10-week summer internships in non-profit and government organizations. Students with varying majors, interests and experiences are selected through an application and interview process to be part of the Summer Leadership Fellows cohort, and all majors are welcome to apply.

Each student selected for the program will receive $6,000 – subject to taxes and paid throughout the summer. Students may elect to register for and earn internship credits, although it is not required to receive the fellowship. Students are not eligible to receive funding for an internship that takes place after they graduate.

After students are selected for the program, the Summer Leadership Fellows meet once a month in addition to individual meetings with program administrators. The large group meetings are focused on professional development skills and opportunities, including searching and preparing for their summer internships.

Throughout the summer, the monthly meetings continue centering on student internship experiences as well as discussions with CSB/SJU graduates. These guest speakers offer a plethora of tips for students to use during the summer and throughout their future professional journeys.

Students conclude the summer with an expanded Bennie-Johnnie network and additional professional knowledge and experiences. 

Here’s a look at the four components of the Summer Leadership Fellows program:

In November 2016, CSB received the largest gift in its history, a $10 million commitment, to create the Fleischhacker Center for Ethical Leadership in Action. 

The gift creates a permanent endowment fund which will fund operations of the center, including the support of experiential learning as well as a mentoring program and speaker series. Internships and other experiential learning opportunities will be carefully designed to support the formation of ethical women leaders in a variety of fields from business to medicine to education and beyond.

Here are the 2021 fellows listed alphabetically, with the organizations they are interning at: 

Fleischhacker Center for Ethical Leadership in Action (30 participants) – Emme Anderson (Wellshare International); Karen Cruz (Jubilee Park and Community Center); ); Paola De La Mora (Walker College Consultants); Brittany Demeritte (Word of Life Kingdom Ministries Church); Bernadette Donlon (TBD); Maeghan Farley (Caring Hands Dental Clinic, Alexandria, Minnesota); Kate Fenske (AHRI); Teniesha Ferguson (Minnesota Medical Association); Lily Fredericks (Jubilee USA); Melissa Garcia (Boys and Girls Club of St. Paul); Faith Gronda (Indian Health Board); Kara Grunther (Open Arms of Minnesota); Shante Hanna (Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Lab); Claire Johnson (St. Joseph Catholic Church, Downers Grove, Illinois); Abby Kaluza (Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office and Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative); McKenna Kirchberg (Guadalupe Social Services); Brianna Kreft (AHRI); Mickaela Maehren (Public Leadership and Education Network); Lizbet Martinez-Port (The Arc Minnesota); Claire Olson (Equity Alliance Minnesota); An Phan (National Association of Japan-America Societies, Washington, D.C,); Lizeth Pineda Roldan (CLUES); Rebecca Quintanilla (Mzuzah Charitable); Sydney Richter (Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s Office, Washington, D.C.); Brenda Rojas Gutierrez (National Immigration Forum); Emily Romero (Justice For Our Neighbors); Hanna Sobhani (Global Rights for Women); Angelina Thao (Wilder Foundation and Second Harvest Heartland); Hailee Thayer (Satellite Industry Association, Washington, D.C.); Alexandria Watkins (Launch Code).

The mission of this fellowship is to empower students with opportunities to serve the common good through community engagement, collective learning and leadership and professional development.

In 2008, CSB received an anonymous gift to establish the Marie and Robert Jackson Fellows Program. Students with varying majors, interests and experience are selected through an application and interview process to be part of a cohort of Jackson Fellows.

Each Fellow serves at a community site for the summer. All fellowships involve civic engagement and work devoted to improving community life. The diversity of the site placements and the type of work and leadership required from each Jackson Fellow serves to create a rich, vibrant and holistic learning environment.

Here are the 2021 fellows listed alphabetically, with the organizations they are interning at: 

Marie and Robert Jackson Fellows (21 participants) – McKenzie Blaine (Portland Fruit Tree Project); Benjamin Epper (Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota); Tom Hobday (Plant Grow Share); Risa Iida (WomEmpowered International); Michael Kennedy (YES Network); Tyler Koll (St. Cloud Police Department - Community Outpost); Max Lyons (Marlene’s Garden); Kat Mazang (The Way Out); Katelyn Meier (Ronald McDonald House); Kayla O’Leary (Preservation Virginia); Hugh Pratt (St. Paul’s Baptist Church of the Bahamas); Jervon Sands (St. Augustine’s College Alumni Association); Will Schwinghammer (Jubilee USA); Utukulu Shalita (360 Communities); Justin Smith (The office of Bahamian Sen. Frederick Mitchell); Lydia Sumrall (Knoxville Area Restoration Ministries); Sydney Walker (Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association); Michael Wallace (Anglican Diocese of the Bahamas); Zong Xiong (Givers of Dreams); Mai See Yang (Givers of Dreams); Julian Yaruro (Jubilee USA).

The John Brandl Scholars program celebrates Saint John’s alumnus John E. Brandl and his lifelong commitment to mentorship and scholarship in higher education, public policy and politics.

The endowment funds summer internships in public policy and leadership development activities such as conferences and training. These internships will range from local to international policy arenas, reflecting Brandl's diverse career and CSB/SJU’s commitment to ethical leadership and the common good.

Brandl Scholars are offered select invitations for the Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civic Engagement events and mini-grants to cover travel or other expenses related to civic or scholarly engagement. Students work full-time for approximately 10 weeks depending on the needs of their internship site. Students may elect to earn credits but will have to pay for these and will be assessed on an individual basis. Graduating seniors are not eligible.

Here are the 2021 scholars listed alphabetically, with the organizations they are interning at: 

John Brandl Scholars (9 participants) – Emmett Adam (Gov. Tim Walz’s office); Elias Cuevas Gonzalez (Boys and Girls Club of Immokalee, Florida); Crystal Diaz (Defenders of Wildlife); Regan Dolezal (Helping Overcome Obstacles Peru); Valerie Doze (German Marshall Fund); Connor Kockler (Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid); Liam Miller (Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress); Fabian Venegas-Ramos (Coalition of Immokalee Workers); Michael Williams (Gendercide Awareness Project).

The mission of this fellowship is to empower students to examine and transform the health of communities, paying particular attention to issues of justice, inequality and problems that transcend borders.

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Education awarded a 2-year grant to CSB/SJU to develop a Global Health minor and create student and faculty opportunities to engage global health. This grant provides for two Global Health Fellows each summer to work locally (within 90 miles of CSB/SJU) with an organization engaged in global/public health work. 

As this is an Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language grant, Global Health Fellows will be required to demonstrate Spanish language proficiency at the ACTFL Intermediate level (preference for Advanced). Proposed sites should be engaged in global/public health with opportunities to put these Spanish skills to use.  Students with a range of interests, experiences and majors are encouraged to apply. 

Global Health Fellowship (2 participants) – Kaia Hoiseth (HACER and CLUES); Grace Savard (HACER and CLUES).