Focus Forward Fellowship – National cohort

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Focus Forward Fellowship is a program designed to build skills, leadership and a sense of community among female student veterans and military-connected women.

Through the program, Fellows:
– build a community of support with peers;
– access corporate mentors to develop new career skills;
– understand individual strengths and how to maximize those strengths;
– identify strategies and resources to increase connections and success on campus;
– gain confidence in problem solving; and
– develop skills to help foster academic and career goals.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Fellowship begins with a free, four day residency program. Cost of travel, food, lodging, activities and materials is covered by MFRI and other sponsoring institutions. All Fellows are competitively selected from a national group of applicants who:

– hold an honorable discharge (if applicable) from the U.S. military or were a dependent of a veteran who does;
– are sophomores, juniors or seniors, or pursuing a master’s degree; and
– maintain a grade point average of 2.9 or better.

Once selected, Fellows participate in preparation activities prior to the program. They then attend the weekend portion of the program. Throughout the following academic year, Fellows will engage in an online learning community. These online activities include:

– participate in scheduled webinar(s), discussion boards, and conference calls;
– read assigned material(s) and completing activities; and
– interact with peers, advocates and program staff through the online learning community.

SUPPORTING THE PROGRAM
MFRI is grateful for the support of Colorado State University, which is sponsoring a June 7 cohort; it is open to military-connected women at Colorado schools. We are also grateful for the support of Got Your 6, a sponsor of our July 26 cohort held in Indianapolis, open to military-connected women from schools across the nation.

If you are interested in supporting the Focus Forward Fellowship, or want to learn more about the Fellowship, please contact:

Lauren Runco
Director, Education and Employment
Military Family Research Institute
Purdue University
(765) 496-6045
lrunco@purdue.edu

Applications for the 2017 Focus Forward Fellowship are now closed. Sign up below to receive our eBriefing for information about next year’s Fellowship along with updates on other MFRI research, outreach and initiatives.

Learn about the program, and join the conversation by following MFRI on Twitter at @MFRIPurdue and using #FWDFellows.

Colorado State University cohort – Fort Collins, CO, June 7-11, 2017

This program is open to all military-connected women who are either sophomores, juniors or seniors, or pursing their master’s degree at the following institutions:

• Colorado State University-Fort Collins
• Colorado State University-Pueblo
• University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS)
• University of Colorado Denver
• Metropolitan State University of Denver
• University of Colorado Boulder
• University of Northern Colorado
• Colorado Community College System

 

National cohort – Indianapolis, IN, July 26-30, 2017

This program is open to all military-connected women who are either sophomores, juniors or seniors, or pursuing their master’s degree.

WHAT FELLOWS ARE SAYING

Tabitha Eaton, Boise State University

I am a junior and undergraduate student working on my bachelor’s degree in social work. I served in the United States Air Force before I was medically retired in February of 2014. The motivation for me to apply for the Focus Forward Fellowship was due to an encouraging email from my assigned vocational rehabilitation counselor who oversees my education plan.

Listen to Tabitha’s comments.

Tamara Jones, Georgia State University

I always dreamed of being a grassroots advocate of the unique plight of female veterans. When this opportunity was presented, I felt like it was fate. Who better to progress women veterans than fellow women veterans?

Listen to Tamara’s comments.

Rebekah Lloyd, Regent University

I was interested to see how this program was going to address our unique needs. One of the most important takeaways that I had with the residential program was the one-on-one mentoring that took place; whether this happened with a woman who was there to teach a class, lead a discussion, or even with another Fellow.

Listen to Rebekah’s comments.