Brandl Scholars
The McCarthy Center is proud to announce the 2013-14 John Brandl Scholars:
Scholars in Washington, D.C.:
Bridget Cummings
Andrew Hovel
Stephanie Pinkalla
Scholar interning at the Citizens League
Katie Spoden
At-large Brandl Scholars:
Rachel Mullin
Edwin Torres
Brandl Scholar Placements:
Bridget Cummings '15:
Due to the Brandl Scholarship, I will be able to spend my summer in DC working at the Department of Justice in the Office of Legislative Affairs. I am very excited about this opportunity as I am interested in both the legal field and public policy. The Office of Legislative Affairs explains and advocates the DOJ's policies to Congress. It serves as the Attorney General's focal point for dealing with Department nominations and congressional oversight. As an intern in the Office of Legislative Affairs, I will attend congressional hearings and briefings and prepare written or oral summaries. In addition, I will prepare and organize material for Department witnesses testifying before Congress.
I am not only grateful for the financial assistance that the Brandl Scholarship provides, but also the way this program emphasizes public service. Being a Brandl Scholar has helped me to realize my passion for public service. I am excited to share my experience working in DC with the CSB/SJU community.
Rachel Mullin '14:
"I will be spending this summer living and working in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I will be interning with a group called KULT. Kult's mission is to advocate, to build, and to strengthen organizations that provide opportunities for youth. They envision an open society in which people are trained and able to take part in all decision-making processes that impact public life. While in Bosnia, I will also be conducting field research for her political science honors thesis on the role of education in genocide. Without the Brandl Scholarship, none of this would have been possible for me. The Brandl allows me to not have to choose between spending my summer doing something to further my education and give back to society and finding a job that can help me pay for school. The Brandl allows for both. Without generous programs such as this, CSB/SJU would not be able to continue to prepare students as well as they do for life after college."
Stephanie Pinkalla '14:
"I will be an intern at the Center for American Progress (CAP) in Washington, D.C., where I will work in their Energy and Environment office. CAP is a self-described progressive policy research and advocacy organization that works on a wide spectrum of political topics. As an intern, I will conduct research on CAP's priority environmental issues, craft memos and other research reports, and work closely with a senior fellow on a larger research project, all in the interest of calling for a progressive energy and environmental policy.
The Brandl Scholarship is financially enabling me to pursue this internship opportunity in Washington, D.C., making it feasible for me and my family, and providing me with the chance to explore potential career pursuits in the important realm of public policy. In addition to much-needed financial support, the Brandl Scholars program also provides a foundation of public service values upon which to develop my own path into public service as I take on the task of guiding policy conversations on critical environmental issues."
Andrew Hovel '14:
Andrew Hovel will be interning with the Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis unit of the Federal Communications Commission this summer. This office performs economic analysis to determine best practices for various pieces of communications policy including broadband subsidies, pricing, telecommunication mergers, and broadcast spectrum licensing. Andrew will be the only undergraduate intern an office mostly comprised of economists and lawyers. He hopes to learn more about communications policy, an increasingly important topic in the future of public policy. In his capacity as an intern at the FCC, he will mostly be charged with research duties to gather, analyze, and report on data and policies relevant to the Office's work.
Katie Spoden '14:
"The Brandl Scholarship has helped me to secure a position at the Citizens League in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This highly reputable membership-based public policy organization will provide me with opportunities to strengthen my critical thinking and analysis of public policy, participate in community events, and work with a diverse group of people to find solutions for the common good of Minnesota. I will specifically be focused on working towards solutions to make Minnesota's electrical system more efficient with a group of Minnesota business leaders, electric companies, environmental interests, political figures, and interested citizens.
Edwin Torres '16:
"This summer I have the opportunity to be a Legal Research Intern for the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL). The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL) is a Los Angeles non-profit organization that focuses its work on the civil and human rights of insular minorities and vulnerable communities. CHRCL initiates and conducts impact class action litigation, provides technical support to other providers of legal services, and engages in advocacy work on selected issues impacting vulnerable low-income groups with legal injuries. I will assist with valuable research on all of the current cases. Research includes finding other pertinent cases, developing demographic information and identifying and reaching out to like-minded community stakeholders. In this position I will be working closely with and reporting one of our General Counsels. The John Brandl Scholarship is enabling me to pursue my dreams in he legal field by providing me with the funds necessary to make them happen. Without the Bandl, I would not be able to do a free internship over the course of the whole summer because my priority would be to get a job to help my parents with next year's tuition. Finally being a Brandl recipient will open doors to potential career pursuits. Having the honor in being named a John Brandl Scholar as a first year is phenomenal and I am very grateful for this opportunity to achieve my dreams."
The 2012-13 Brandl Scholars include:
Scholars interning in Washington D.C.
- Kunihiro Shimoji, a Political Science major from Okinawa, Japan
- Drew Stommes, a Political Science major from Eden Valley, Minnesota
- Alivia Tison, an English and Hispanic Studies major from Des Moines, Iowa
Scholar interning at the Citizens League
- Madeline Page, an Environmental Studies and Political Science major from Tucson, Arizona
At-large Brandl Scholar
- Isaac Meyer, a Political Science and Pre-Law major from Breckenridge, Minnesota
The John Brandl Scholars program.
John E. Brandl was a 1959 graduate of Saint John's. The John Brandl Scholars program celebrates Brandl's 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 trainings. These internships will range from local to international policy arenas, reflecting Dr. Brandl's diverse career and CSB/SJU's commitment to ethical leadership and the common good.
John Brandl Scholars receive $4,000 summer stipends and are offered select invitations for McCarthy Center events and mini grants to cover travel or other expenses related to civic or scholarly engagement.
Graduating seniors are not eligible. Students will work full-time for 8-10 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.
In 2013, a total of five Brandl Scholarships will be awarded. Three Brandl Scholarships will be awarded to students in the CSB/SJU Washington, D.C. Summer Study Program, one will fund a student internship at the Citizen's League in St. Paul, and another will fund a public policy internship anywhere in the world.
Students will be selected based on the following items:
1) A cover letter explaining student interest and the policy area or topic upon which the student would hope to focus. In addition, the cover letter must state that students will not have any other employment if awarded this fellowship.
(Important note on site placement: One of the Brandl Scholars will be placed with the Citizens League in St. Paul, MN. The applicant should indicate if he or she has a strong interest to be placed with the Citizens League; if not the applicant should propose three other site locations of interest to them.)
2) Resume indicating relevant class or other training, relevant class or other training, relevant paid and unpaid work/volunteer experiences, conferences or workshops attended, honors and awards, public talks or media involvement, and other skills such as languages or computer skills
3) Current unofficial transcript
4) Recent academic writing sample
5) Finalists may be interviewed
APPLICATION DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 4, 2012.
Any questions and all application materials should be addressed to Stacy Penk, McCarthy Center Coordinator, Simons 136, SJU. Phone: (320)363-3266 or email: spenk@csbsju.edu.