Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows

Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows The Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows Program is a highly selective six week summer institute for rising college juniors.

The Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows Program is a highly selective six week summer institute for rising college juniors offering unparalleled learning and networking opportunities at the home of America's first president just outside our nation's capital. We offer an all-inclusive six week program that provides housing, transportation, meals and a $500 weekly stipend. In this program you will:
- De

velop valuable leadership skills and tools
- Advance an actionable cause with a capstone project
- Build a professional network with assigned mentors and peers from
across the nation

The Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows program offers a dynamic and stimulating leadership curriculum that encourages students to examine their personal strengths, identify areas for growth, and ultimately take action as a leader. In that spirit, these leadership lessons are taught within a framework highlighting the inspirational leadership model of George Washington. Each week students will meet with some of the nation's top leaders, engage with the other Fellows on leadership styles and skills, and collaborate with their assigned mentor on their individual capstone projects. A highlight of the Leadership Fellows experience is learning how to take a personal passion and turn it into a blueprint for action in the form of a Capstone Project. Leadership Fellows will be spending some of their time working on their individual capstones while at Mount Vernon, culminating in a final presentation at the conclusion of the program. Each Fellow is paired with a mentor in his or her chosen field as part of their capstone. Mentors help Fellows shape their projects, guide their research, and create a strategy for how they will implement their capstone in their home communities. Mentors are noted luminaries in a variety of fields who help introduce the Leadership Fellows to various professionals who can help them gain a deeper understanding of their area of interest. Students who meet the following criteria are encouraged to apply:
- Currently enrolled college sophomore in good standing
- Proven leadership ability and involvement
- All majors welcome
- Demonstrated interest in proposed capstone project
- Cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher
- Current U.S. Citizen

Application requirements:
- Resume
- Three (3) essays
- Two (2) letters of recommendation
- Current college transcript (applicants may use unofficial college
transcript)

Another summer at Mount Vernon has come and gone. We are so thankful for our 2019 Fellows and can't wait to see all that...
07/08/2019

Another summer at Mount Vernon has come and gone. We are so thankful for our 2019 Fellows and can't wait to see all that they accomplish in their next year before their reunion as alumni!

We'll continue to post throughout the year with spotlights on these fellows as well as our alumni. Stay on the lookout this fall for our 2020 application!

Another summer is in the books at Mount Vernon! We finished up the program with more speakers, a visit to the Pentagon, ...
07/08/2019

Another summer is in the books at Mount Vernon!

We finished up the program with more speakers, a visit to the Pentagon, a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian, presenting capstone projects, the alumni reunion, and the 4th of July!

It's only been two days and we miss our fellows like crazy already. Can't wait for when we will have them back on the property!

Today is capstone presentation day! Join us on the livestream to see these 14 amazing rising college juniors present the...
07/02/2019

Today is capstone presentation day! Join us on the livestream to see these 14 amazing rising college juniors present the projects they’ve spent 6 weeks on!

youtube.com/watch?v=7WmfYk…

Today's "Where Are They Now" post is featuring Alyssa Norris from the 2015 cohort! After graduation Alyssa joined LONG B...
06/24/2019

Today's "Where Are They Now" post is featuring Alyssa Norris from the 2015 cohort!

After graduation Alyssa joined LONG Building Technologies Inc. as a Sales Engineer. She designs and consults renewable energy retrofits, building automation systems and mechanical systems in facilities all across Alaska. In her spare time she serves on her local Energy Cooperative Advisory Committee, is a State of Alaska C-PACE (commercial property assessed clean energy) committee member, volunteers with resource conservation groups, and helps coach youth sports. Her job takes her from Utqiagvik (Barrow) to Dutch Harbor and everywhere in between and sometimes includes visiting polar bears and salmon tossing- in addition to working with clients.

Alyssa graduated from Washington State University in 2018 where she was the sole student selected to serve on the Board of Regents.

Great meeting today with General John Kelly on leadership lessons learned! Later today we will be meeting with Scott Sta...
06/24/2019

Great meeting today with General John Kelly on leadership lessons learned! Later today we will be meeting with Scott Stanzel Vice President of Corporate Communications for Capital One, and tomorrow David Rubenstein. Stay tuned for photos with them!

We've had a busy two weeks off the estate! We visited the White House, took a tour of the Capitol, saw Hello, Dolly! at ...
06/23/2019

We've had a busy two weeks off the estate!

We visited the White House, took a tour of the Capitol, saw Hello, Dolly! at the Kennedy Center, and wrapped up the week at a Barn Warming Party for the new Livestock Facility at Mount Vernon! We continued to work on our capstones throughout the week, and spoke with leaders throughout the area.

We can't wait for the last two weeks of the program!

Below is a list of everyone we met with:

Chris Lu, Former White House Cabinet Secretary for President Obama and Former Deputy Secretary of Labor
Jim Warden, U.S. Department of State
Julie Mason and Olivier Knox from Sirius-XM POTUS Channel
Jon Clifton (Managing Partner) and Emily Massel, Gallup
Ann-Louise Colgan, Director of Public Education, and Dr. Mike Yeffe, VP for Middle East and Africa Center, from the US Institute of Peace
Abby Phillip, White House Correspondent
Tony Fratto and Stuart Siciliano, Hamilton Place Strategies
Susan Neely, President of the American Council for Life Insurance
Thomas Oppel, Mabus Group
Mike French, Former NASA COS / Bryce Space and Technology
David Gilliland, Government Affairs for Pew Charitable Trusts
Dr. Carla Hayden, Director of the Library of Congress
Senator Tim Kaine
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx
Dr. Anthea Hartig, Director of the National AMerican History Museum
Robert van Leer, Senior VP for Artistic Planning at the Kennedy Center

On this week’s “Where Are They Now?” we are featuring Marissa Piccolo from the class of 2015! She’s been VERY busy since...
06/18/2019

On this week’s “Where Are They Now?” we are featuring Marissa Piccolo from the class of 2015! She’s been VERY busy since her time as a fellow and we are amazed by all she’s done!

Currently, Marissa is finishing up a year of teaching English in Shanghai, China before starting at the University of Chicago Law School this fall. In Shanghai, she teaches Chinese people of all ages, engages in cross-cultural dialogues each day, and even gave a talk about George Washington.

She decided to go to China after finishing her Master’s Degree in Global Security and Borders as a Fulbright Scholar in the UK, hoping to experience first-hand the trends in international relations and politics she had studied at Queen’s University Belfast.

While in Belfast, she completed a research project for an office of the Northern Irish government, attended seminars at EU and NATO headquarters, worked with the Centre for the Advancement of Women in Politics, and conducted fieldwork in Bosnia-Herzegovina about the implementation of a UN resolution related to female political participation in post-conflict societies, which has since been shared with stakeholders.

She has spent these last few years linking her Mount Vernon capstone about women’s political participation in democracies with worldwide conversations about democracy in the 21st century. She is excited to keep exploring and action on these themes at the University of Chicago. You can hear here talking about her work at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, in a talk titled “How to Save Democracy: Stories from Women Worldwide”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct0dXIRU0nY

Today we want to make an special post for Sean Patrick McGinley (MVLF class of ‘15), MVLF’s soon to be FIRST attorney! A...
06/16/2019

Today we want to make an special post for Sean Patrick McGinley (MVLF class of ‘15), MVLF’s soon to be FIRST attorney!

A few weeks ago he graduated from Boston College with his J.D and we could not be more proud of him.

Sean Patrick said, “ I can honestly say I would not have made it through (law school) as successfully as I did without MVLF. I went from a small engineering school in Colorado to law school on the East Coast. The only consistencies were the lessons I learned from MVLF. Because of the program's focus on leadership, development, and personal strengths, I am about to be MVLF's first attorney! (Assuming I pass the Bar...)”

We are amazed by you and honored to have you as a part of our family!

It’s , and this week we are featuring a former Program Assistant! Garrett Kalt was in the 2016 cohort and is currently ...
06/14/2019

It’s , and this week we are featuring a former Program Assistant! Garrett Kalt was in the 2016 cohort and is currently studying at the London School of Economics for a MSc in Politics and Communication. When he’s not running half-marathons, or petting golden retrievers, you can find him helping lead a research summit between LSE and Oxford or coding tweets for his dissertation! We are so grateful for all he’s given back to this program and can’t wait to see more of what he does in the future. When asked what MVLF means to him, Garrett shared,

“It means a lot. Two things that stand out are the space and people MVLF brought into my life. The summer of my fellowship created a space for me to reflect deeply about pivotal questions during a time of uncertainty and transition. I was able to better understand who I am and how I want to contribute to the communities I’m part of.

The fellowship was something that happened, but is also something that very much so continues. Three years later I’m still learning from and with fellows from all classes, and others connected to the program. Some of my closest friends and biggest aw-ha moments came from MVLF. For that I’ll always be grateful.”

What a jam-packed, phenomenal day! We began with a tour of , met with and from Hamilton Place Strategies, Abby Phillip...
06/14/2019

What a jam-packed, phenomenal day!

We began with a tour of , met with and from Hamilton Place Strategies, Abby Phillip, a correspondent for CNN, and concluded the night with a panel discussion on women and leadership, at the National Archives! The panel included The Honorable Barbara Comstock, The Honorable Donna Edwards, Ann F. Lewis, and Ambassador Constance A. Morella and was moderated by Alexandra Petri.

We also had a surprise meeting with the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook!

Today was a great day at both Gallup and USIP learning about world issues and how our leadership can be applied to creat...
06/12/2019

Today was a great day at both Gallup and USIP learning about world issues and how our leadership can be applied to create a happier, more peaceful world🌎🕊

We spoke with Ann-Louise Colgan, Director of Public Education and Dr. Mike Yaffe, Vice President KD their Middle East and Africa Center at the United States Institute of Peace. There we learned about the history of USIP as well as their current actions and future. At Gallup we met with Global Managing Partner, Jon Clifton, and Emily Massel with CliftonStrengths.

Address

Mount Vernon, VA
22121

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows:

Shortcuts

Share