Engaging Women Student Veterans beyond the Classroom
May 24, 2016
Hello NASPA Veterans Knowledge Community! The NASPA VKC understands the importance of sharing best practices and programs that support military-connected students on our campuses. We encourage our membership to share available opportunities for these students to expand their academic and personal growth through national or regional initiatives to ensure this population is informed on various programs and services that meet their unique needs. If you are interested in sharing a new program with the VKC, please email me at [email protected] and I will be sure to include this information on the VKC website or through our VKC Newsletter. Keep an eye out for our next newsletter which is scheduled to go out in early July!
This is my first blog as your new VKC Chair and I couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce an exciting new program for you to share with your female student veterans and military-connected female students on your campus! Today I'm highlighting a new initiative from The Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) at Purdue University, called the Focus Forward Fellowship, which will engage military-connected female students beyond the classroom.
You might be asking yourself, “Why the need for a program that’s only for women student veterans?” While this may be a surprise to some of you, there isn’t much research out there on how to support women student veterans and we haven’t been able to pinpoint a program that speaks to this specific population on college campuses. Women currently account for 16 percent of active-duty service personnel, according to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics. And we know that 82 percent of post-9/11 female veterans joined the military to receive education benefits. MFRI is committed to helping these leaders transition to the next phase of their lives by connecting them with resources that strengthen and guide them, and I am confident the Focus Forward Fellowship program can do just that.
The Focus Forward Fellowship is designed to build skills, leadership, and a sense of community among female student veterans and military-connected women. The program will engage fellows and build skills and confidence through interactions with other successful students, faculty members, and advocates. Fellows will also learn how to improve their academic skills so that they can thrive in the university setting.
The Focus Forward Fellowship is designed to build a community of support to foster relationships with peers, mentors, and faculty who will be leading sessions and contributing online throughout the fellowship. Students will learn to recognize and overcome barriers to personal effectiveness. They will also identify strategies and resources that will help them increase their connections and success once they return to their home campus. Through it all, we want these students to gain confidence in their ability to problem solve while they develop skills that help them reach their academic and career goals.
MFRI encourages applicants from across the U.S. to ensure the program is robust with perspectives from various types of women from all backgrounds. Candidates for the program will hold an honorable discharge from the U.S. military or be a dependent of a veteran who does, be entering their sophomore or junior year at a four-year institution and maintain a grade point average of 2.9 or better. The women participating in this program will also have an opportunity to provide feedback throughout the course of the fellowship to impact future fellowship participants. The fellowship is free for all participants, and if accepted, MFRI will sponsor the fellow’s cost of travel, food, lodging, activities, and materials.
The fellowship will kick-off with a weekend-long residency program held Aug. 11-14 in Indianapolis, IN., with additional web-based activities scheduled throughout the 2016-2017 academic year.
Applications for the Focus Forward Fellowship will open June 1st and close June 19th.
CLICK HERE to sign up for application updates. Share this opportunity with military-connected females on your campus and anyone else you think may be interested in participating!
Follow MFRI on Twitter at @MFRIPurdue and Like us on Facebook and use #FWDFellows to join the conversation.