The application for the Summer 2023 Roosevelt in Washington Fellowship is now closed.

 

In an effort to create career exploration opportunities for progressive-minded undergraduate students and to build a more robust pipeline into the progressive policy ecosystem, the Roosevelt Network is launching the Roosevelt in Washington (RIW) Fellowship. As a leader in the political and economic ideological public square, the Roosevelt Institute is uniquely equipped to train the next generation of progressive policy leaders who will contribute to a vision for a just economy and multiracial democracy.

Roosevelt in Washington is a six-month leadership and professional development program for Network students, engaging them during the spring and summer before their junior or senior year. This program supports progressive policy career exploration, targeted skill-building training, mentorship from Network alumni, and placement into an eight- to nine-week summer internship within the Roosevelt Institute or a partner organization. Partner organization internship opportunities will be announced when the application opens in November 2022. RIW Fellows will also have the opportunity to grow as leaders in a community of other passionate policy wonks, with weekly seminar sessions on critical skills like emotional intelligence, coalition building, and project management.  

RIW delivers the structured scaffolding for students to have a transformational summer experience, filled with values exploration, real-world skill building, dedicated mentorship, and a deep sense of community. In addition to a fundamental understanding of the various policy-aligned careers that exist in the progressive ecosystem, students will leave this experience with the confidence and skills to chart their unique professional pathway in the movement. The RIW Fellowship aims to serve as a stepping stone for a long career that strengthens the progressive movement.

What will the experience look like?

Four-Month Intensive

RIW Fellows will be selected by February 2023 and will then embark on a completely virtual four-month intensive to prepare them for a summer internship within a Roosevelt Institute department or aligned partner organization. Students must be able to dedicate two hours during the week and two to three hours every other Saturday to real-time, virtual training sessions. During these four months, students will engage in: 

  • Professional development skills training, such as resume writing and networking;
  • Policy research and writing training;
  • Building a relationship with their Network alumni-matched mentor;
  • Biweekly meetings with a Network staff supervisor; 
  • Coursework in the ideological tenets of Roosevelt Institute’s worldview; 
  • Leadership, professional writing, and project management trainings; and
  • Learning how to connect FDR’s legacy to the current context of American domestic policy.

Two-Month Internship

Roosevelt Network students will then apply their learning to a two-month internship experience, during which they will be supported by a trio of professionals invested in their growth; this trio includes a Network staff supervisor, their internship site supervisor, and a Network alumni mentor. Fellows will work 30 hours per week at their internship site, attend 5 hours of supplemental learning experiences at the end of every week, and dedicate 5 hours a week to a team project. Supplemental learning experiences will include a combination of: 

  • Site visits to progressive policy organizations or government agencies;
  • Career exploration panels; 
  • Networking events with Roosevelt Alumni in Washington, DC;
  • Community building-focused social outings;
  • Alumni mentor meetings/activities;
  • Seminar-style discussions on policy challenges across four of the Roosevelt Institute issue areas—Corporate Power, Worker Power, Climate Justice, and Race & Democracy.
You should apply if you:
  • Are a full time undergraduate student in the last one to two years of your degree program;
  • Are a student attending an American college or university. Network programs cannot accept students attending non-American institutions; 
  • Have at least one more semester left in your undergraduate degree program for the 2023-2024 academic year;
  • Can commit to a part-time opportunity from March through May 2023, and then full-time in June and July 2023;  
  • Have the capacity to dedicate two hours during the week and two to three hours every other Saturday to real-time, virtual training sessions from March to May 2023;
  • Can commit to living in Washington, DC for an internship placement in June and July 2023;
  • Are an undergraduate student who has already engaged with policy discussions through your undergraduate major or experience in an existing Network chapter;
  • Are passionate about exploring progressive policy in the areas of corporate power, worker power, race & democracy, or climate justice.
How do you apply?

In an effort to offer more flexibility to students making Summer 2023 plans, the Network will offer two cycles of applications for the Roosevelt in Washington Fellowship. Interested applicants can choose to apply in Cycle 1 or Cycle 2. Neither group of applicants will receive preferential consideration in the application process.

CYCLE 1 (APPLICATION CLOSED):
Application opens: November 1, 2022
Application deadline: December 18, 2022 (by midnight)

CYCLE 2 (APPLICATION CLOSED):
Application opens: January 9, 2023
Application deadline: February 12, 2023 (by midnight)

Still have questions regarding the RIW Fellowship program? Email us at campus.network@rooseveltinstitute.org and someone from our team will get back to you shortly!