Today the online application for Caldwell Fellows becomes available for freshmen to view, though they cannot apply until the end of the first semester. The program is unique in that students are judged only by their accomplishments during their first semester in college, not how well they performed in high school.
Caldwell Fellows Program Director Janice Odom said the selection criteria allow students to be on an even playing field when they apply.
“We only evaluate what students have done in the time that they have been at the University,” Odom said. “This allows us to select a very diverse group of students, because we understand that everyone did not have the same opportunities in high school.”
The program generally has between 250 and 280 applicants per year, but can only accept 20 to 25 students, according to Odom.
“There is both a written application and a full day’s worth of interviews before the final selection,” Odom said. “The selected students receive a tuition and experimental learning stipend of $5,000 annually.”
Sonja Jones, a junior Caldwell Fellow in chemical engineering and pulp and paper science engineering, said the commitment required by students in the program is individualized.
“Caldwell Fellows is a catalyst to allow students to become involved in the University and community,” Jones said. “Through the program, I have been involved with service initiatives such as We Recycle, Shack-a-Thon, the Satellite science camp program, and the Open Door Clinic, which provides healthcare to residents of Wake County.”
Many Caldwell Fellows use their stipend for service trips abroad. Jones visited Mexico on a service-learning trip and served in Honduras with the Red Cross and UNICEF, the United Nation’s Children’s Fund.
Kris Gower, a sophomore Caldwell Fellow in business administration and international studies, traveled to China this past summer through the Caldwell Fellows program.
“My classmates and I worked with Home Sweet Home rehabilitation center and autistic children, along with various other service organizations, while being completely immersed in a different culture,” Gower said. “We were fortunate enough to have a Caldwell Fellows alumni, Jim Arnold, host us in China, where he lives and works.”
The Caldwell Fellows network of alumni and students is one of the best aspects of the program, according to Ryne Jones, a sophomore in human biology and French education.
“You make great friends from the very beginning that will stay with you throughout your time in college, and even later on in life” Ryne Jones said.
Chaffee Viets, a 1997 Caldwell Fellows graduate, came back to the University to become the program’s associate director.
”Caldwell Fellows allowed me to grow as a leader through the service-learning seminars,” Viets said. “The network of alumni has been beneficial to me since graduation, both personally and professionally.”
Odom said she often receives phone calls from community groups looking for volunteers to start new service projects, such as the New Sense Studio that the Caldwell Fellows started last year as a contingency of Haven House Services.
“This is a place started by Caldwell Fellows students to reach out to at-risk high school age students by teaching them many forms of art media,” Odom said.
Odom said the Caldwell Fellows program encourages students to make ongoing service partnerships.
“Our students are involved with projects that last longer than one day,” Odom said. “Many students stay with their agencies and keep working past graduation.”
