Just like that, we’re half-way into October and this fall semester is just moving right along! Now that (we hope) everyone is adjusted to the pace of this semester, we’re excited to share some of our upcoming programming and *so many* exciting award opportunities.
Public Service Week
As we noted last month, our programming this year is designed around a theme highlighting a particular area and/or set of awards that OSDFA supports. First up is our “Public Service Week,” kicking off TODAY. All week long, we’ll be featuring awards and organizations that fit within the broad scope of “Public Service” and highlighting students who’ve participated in opportunities around this theme. Check out our flier, below, for a preview of what you can look forward to and be sure to stay tuned on our social media (Instagram & LinkedIn) for special features throughout the week.
This month, in recognition of Public Service Week, we’re sharing bonus content with a featured guest blog post by Myo Thinzar Htin Aung. Myo is a junior biology major (CCAS ’26) who took a chance on herself when OSDFA suggested she apply for the first South Jersey cohort of the Ali Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization founded by Rutgers-Newark graduate, and Truman, Schwarzman, and P.D. Soros recipient, Musab Ali. In her blog post, Myo shares about the experience and lessons learned by taking a chance & applying!
Fulbright & Gilman Season!
When we’re not busy partnering with students / organizations and planning these themed weeks, you can find us helping students prepare and SUBMIT their applications to national awards. October is a BUSY time for award deadlines, including the Fulbright US Student program and the Benjamin Gilman Scholarship – both of which wrapped up last week.
For the Fulbright award, OSDFA began meeting with interested students last April (!) and advised applicants throughout the summer and early fall. We connected with so many students & alumni to share about this award opportunity, and we are proud to share that 9 applicants “hit submit” on their applications this year; a 12.5% increase from last cycle. These individuals are current seniors, current graduate students, and Rutgers – Camden alumni who applied to countries across the globe, including Bosnia, Brazil, Indonesia, Jordan, Rwanda, South Korea, and Wales (UK). Applicants will be reviewed by a US panel of experts this fall and will learn whether they’ve been selected as “semi-finalist” and review of their host countries in January; we’ll be sure to share updates as we have them!
Our Gilman Week was a success, full of student testimonials, social media tidbits, and discussions on global education. It culminated in 22 amazing students hitting submit on the application on Thursday, October 10! That is a 633% (!!!) increase from last year, and we are so incredibly proud of our students who took this leap. We are rooting for each of you and cannot wait to hear updates in December.
Scarlet Scholars
When we’re not actively supporting students on applications for awards, we’re honored to be able to guide them in their academic journeys in other impactful ways. In late September we welcomed a new cohort of students to “Scarlet Scholars,” a program designed for first-year students who are interested in building connections and exploring opportunities to make the most of their years on campus. In our first meeting, we made space for students to share their interests and aspirations in community. In our second meeting, we guided students through exercises designed to explore their values and strengths, traits we hope they’ll leverage as they apply with OSDFA to awards and opportunities in pursuit of their goals. Stay tuned for more updates next month 😊
Finally, we’re back with a new batch of “awards to consider” for this month.
Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) – join us on Monday, October 21 during the free period for a virtual event with CLS Representatives. Application currently open, deadline is Nov 19.
Boren Awards – join us on Wednesday, November 20 during the free period for a virtual event with Boren Representatives. Application currently open, national deadline is January 22, 2025 (graduate students/fellowship) and January 29, 2025 (undergraduate students / scholarship)
Fulbright Summer Institutes – application open November 12 and will be due February 3.
You can learn more about these awards, and others, by joining our Canvas course page; reach out to OSDFA to be added.