October 30, 2018

Elms College establishes Keating/Schneider Experiential Learning Fund

REGIONAL
Staff report

(IObserve photo/courtesy of Elms College)

CHICOPEE – The College of Our Lady of the Elms, thanks to a generous donation from Richard J. Meelia, has established The Sisters Kathleen Keating and Maxyne Schneider Experiential Learning Fund to expand experiential learning opportunities for students.

Sister of St. Joseph Kathleen Keating (Photo courtesy of Elms College)

This new fund will allow students to participate in unpaid internships and research experiences related to their majors or career interests; service-learning and mission trip experiences, whether local, national, or international; and study abroad trips.

“In addition to ensuring academic success, it is vitally important to provide students with experiences that promote career success and a life of giving to others,” said Joyce Hampton,  dean for student success and strategic initiatives. “This program will allow our students to promote the greater good and also gain skills in their chosen fields, and that will serve them well both personally and professionally.”

The funding will be available to students for experiences beginning in spring 2019, when several students will receive funding to support their participation in such activities.

To be eligible for any of the funding categories, any student must:

• Be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate Elms College student at any campus location.
• Earn a minimum of a cumulative 2.75 grade-point average.
• Already have an offer letter for the learning experience prior to applying for funding; however, students who are scheduled to take part in mission trips through Elms do not need to provide this offer letter.
• Successfully complete the experience by Aug. 31, 2019.
• Commit to delivering a presentation about the experience at an event in the spring semester.

Sister of St. Joseph Maxyne Schneider (Photo courtesy of Sisters of St. Joseph)

The opportunity is open to undergraduate first-year students, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

To apply, students should visit the following webpage and select their experience type: https://www.elms.edu/undergraduate-admission/undergrad-tuition-and-aid/experiential-learning-funds/. Applications are due by Oct. 26 for mission/service trips, no later than 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time) Nov. 9 for study abroad, and no later than 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time) Nov. 26 for research and internships.

Students who are selected to receive awards from this fund will be notified by a formal letter via email by mid-December, and will need to officially accept the funding within a week of notification.

“We are pleased and honored that Richard Meelia has bestowed this gift upon Elms College and our students,” said Harry E. Dumay, Elms president. “Thanks to his vision and generosity, and those of people like him, Elms College is poised like never before to advance the vision of our founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph: to empower students to better their own lives and to make a difference in the lives of those around them.”