1. Meg Walsh Award Info Session
September 9, 2015
11:00a – 12:00p EST
Presented by the Second Decade Society
Rosanna

2. Welcome! Rosanna Best Corbin ’98
Co-Chair, SDS Student Leadership Committee
Payal Patel ’05
2005 Meg Walsh Award Winner
Charlotte James ’14
2014 Meg Walsh Award Winner
Rosanna, welcome participants. Introduce yourself and the other panelists.
You may want to ask Payal and Charlotte to give mini-synopses of their projects.

3. Background Information
Rosanna:

4. What is SDS?
The Second Decade Society (SDS) is a group of Johns Hopkins alumni in their second decade since graduation who are committed to enhancing the undergraduate student experience. The group provides advice and financial support for students through programming and leadership advancement.
Rosanna:
The Second Decade Society is a group of alumni volunteers in their second decade since graduation who are committed to enhancing the undergraduate student experience; including support for experiences which might otherwise be unavailable to students. This group is highly selective in its membership and includes roughly 100 alumni between their 11th and 20th years out from graduation from the Krieger School.

5. How SDS supports students:
Meg Walsh Award
SDS Summer Internship Support
Career Assistance – mock interviews, internship/networking opportunities, employment opportunities; in close collaboration with the Career Center
Rosanna:
There are many ways in which SDS supports students, and the above are just a few of these ways. Through the work of our different committees each year, we are able to accomplish and offer a variety of support vehicles and services each year. The Walsh Award and SDS Summer Internships are overseen by Rosanna’s committee, the Student Leadership Committee. It is also important to note that all of the activities and offerings from SDS each year are fully paid for by the members themselves as part of their mission of enhancing the student experience.

6. Who was Florence “Meg” Long Walsh?
Meg Walsh, BA ’84 and SDS member
Vice President and Treasurer of Lucent Technologies; very successful in business
Passed away tragically in 1998, was only 37 years old
Inspiring to her peers because of her optimism, ambition and work ethic
Rosanna:
Meg Walsh, BA ‘84, was a dedicated alumna, SDS member and passionate explorer of the world who died tragically in Although she was only 37 when she passed away, Meg had already achieved remarkable career success as a female leader in her field.
Upon graduation from Hopkins, Meg worked at T. Rowe Price and attended Wharton Business School. Soon after, Meg became the Vice President and Treasurer of Lucent Technologies, a leading communications technology firm, where she was the one of the their first female executives. Meg was a very colorful character, and a risk-taker in her day. Amongst colleagues and friends, Meg was known for her optimism, humor, drive and good spirits. She was a world-traveler and she believed strongly in the importance of having a global perspective.
When Meg Walsh passed away in 2008, the Society decided that it would like to memorialize her by naming this award in her memory. Its goals to reflect the qualities of independent intellectual inquiry, global perspective and leadership that she embodied. It serves to recognize and support students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership as undergraduates and who hold promise of accomplishing great things in the future.

7. Meg Walsh Award Information
Rosanna:

8. Meg Walsh Award Benefits
$25,000 stipend for one student
One-year project
Granted to a graduating senior from the School of Arts and Sciences to conduct an independent project of his/her own design, internationally
The sky is the limit!
Rosanna:
The Walsh Award is granted to a graduating senior (will receive an undergraduate degree in May 2014) from the School of Arts and Sciences to conduct a project of his/her own design internationally. Projects may be in any area, in any field. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study anything you want, anywhere in the world, and an opportunity for you to really take advantage of your time between graduation and grad school/starting your career.
Transition to Charlotte to talk about the previous winners

9. Previous Winners Ryan Walsh – 2012 Derek Nnuro – 2009
Travelled to Senegal where he studied the relationship between fossil fuel consumption and food security.
Derek Nnuro – 2009
Went to Ghana to study indigenous funerary rituals to serve as a basis for a piece of literary fiction
Brittany Lin – 2007
Went to assist/study an orphanage in China – fundraising, arranging for medial missions to the home, caring for critically ill orphans
Rosanna:
Highlight three winners on screen, say that they were picked to show a range of projects, but that projects certainly span other areas as well.
PAYAL and CHARLOTE: Share your experiences with winning the Walsh/conducting your project.

10. Program Aim
The aim of the Meg Walsh Award is to support independent inquiry, global perspective and leadership. Dream BIG, and show us your ideas!
Charlotte - Just to repeat, this Award really is meant to give you a unique opportunity to study whatever you want, wherever you want. The possibilities for project support are absolutely endless.

11. Award Timeline Dec. 1– Applications due
Dec. 2– Committee starts to review applications
Jan. 6 – Finalists are notified, interviews are coordinated for the afternoon of Friday, January 29. On campus participation is REQUIRED.
Jan. 29 – Winner is announced
Charlotte
The 2016 Meg Walsh Award Application will be available starting October 1 on the SDS website.
December 1 – All applications and supplementary materials are due by noon
December 2 – Committee members begin to review applications. The application review committee is made up of SDS members and one or two faculty members each year. All SDS members are invited to read applications each year.
January 6 – Finalists are notified, interview times are coordinated for Friday, January 29, Finalists will participate in a panel interview with 3-4 SDS members, and at least one faculty member, and must be on-campus to participate.
January 29 – Winner is notified. The interview committee will also select a runner-up, who will be awarded the Walsh Award should the winner accept an alternative award.

12. Application Inclusions
A project proposal
A detailed project budget
An essay on your leadership accomplishments
A resume
Two letters of recommendation
An official University transcript
Charlotte
Your project proposal should be 1200 or fewer words and describe the project, how your background has prepared you to conduct this project, how this project reflects your talents, concerns and vision for your future, how you would benefit from this unique opportunity, why this project is important to you and others, etc. Your budget should reflect how the stipend of $15,000 would be spent to conduct this project, and it should be very detailed and specific. The budget is really a lynchpin of the application process because it shows that you have figured out, in very concrete terms, how you plan to execute this project given the funding.
Your leadership essay should also be 1200 or fewer words and describe the activities or initiatives you developed as a student at Hopkins that have made a difference at the University and/or in the surrounding communities. It should discuss how your leadership contributed to the program, how it has raised the profile of the program at the University level or in the greater community, how it will continue upon your graduation, etc.
Your resume should include experience that is relevant to your project proposal and should be no longer than one page in length.
Your letters of recommendation should address your leadership abilities and your capability to accomplish the proposed project. Letters may come from faculty, administrators or directors of programs in which you were involved.
You must request an official transcript from the Registrar’s office.
You should also know that finalists will be required to provide a letter to the Award Committee from the organization, entity or contact that you would be working with stating his, her, its support and mutual interest in having you conduct this project – if appropriate. Some projects would not require this as a result of their construct, but if this is something that would be applicable to you, it’s something to think about.

13. If you are a FINALIST:
Applicants who are chosen to participate in the January 29, 2016 interviews will be required to present a “Letter of Support” from their partner organization, sponsor, etc. - if their project requires such a collaboration – prior to the interview.
Charlotte

14. What does a great application look like?
Complete
Expresses your passion and personal interest in the project
Honest and critical; creative
Presents a strong argument for why you need to be in a specific place to conduct your project
Presents a strong argument for the resources it provides
Uses the Walsh Award Budget Template!
Payal
Because the scope of the Walsh Award is very broad, it is difficult to provide specific inclusions which will make your application “better” than those of your peers.
However, there are some focus areas that we’d like you to keep in mind:
Be honest and critical about what is reasonable to accomplish given the $25,000 stipend, time frame and your own strengths and capabilities.
Express your passion and personal interest in this subject. It should be clear from your application that this is deeply meaningful to you.
Be creative. Propose something innovative and new.
Tell us why you need to be in a specific place to conduct this work. Why should SDS send you internationally to focus on this task?
Lastly, it is critical that you have a detailed budget which presents a clear look at how you intend to spend the $25,000. Many of the budgets we have seen in the past are very generic. You want to leave you readers wanting to speak with you because they find your project fascinating and can’t wait to learn more - not confused because your numbers are vague.

15. Items of Note
Payal
There are a few other things to think about when applying for the Meg Walsh Award.

16. Things to Consider
The Meg Walsh Award is given to one student each year.
You must receive an undergraduate degree from the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences in 2016 to be awarded Walsh funding
Your project must take place internationally
Payal
This award is given to one student each year and is coveted and prestigious to receive. The Award committee invests a great deal of energy and consideration in choosing the winner each year. 
Only seniors who will graduate from the Krieger school with an undergraduate degree during the school year are eligible to apply.
Your project must take place internationally. If you are an international student, you may not conduct this project in your native country.

17. Funding Restrictions
Funding must be used to support your project and may not be spent on anyone/anything else
Funding may not be used for study at another college/university
Funding may be used for only one trip to/from the United States, except in health or personal emergencies
Funding is subject to US Income Tax.
Payal
Funding must be used to support your project and may not be spent on anyone/anything else. The award stipend is intended to provide maintenance, support and travel expenses for you while you conduct your international project experience. No one else.
Funding may not be used for study at another college/university.
Funding may be used for only one trip to and from the United States (or your home country), unless you need to return for a health or personal emergency.
Currently, the Meg Walsh Award is considered income, and it is subject to US Income Tax. This is something to be aware of when building your budget.

18. What if I also applied for a Fulbright?
If you win the Meg Walsh Award, and you are waiting to hear from the Fulbright committee, you may “conditionally accept” the Award.
You may only hold one Award (either the Meg Walsh or Fulbright), and need to decide which to accept.
Payal
Many Meg Walsh Award applicants apply for other grants, fellowships, and awards as well, and we are in full support of student ambition and excellence at Hopkins and beyond!
If you receive the Walsh Award and you are waiting to hear from the Fulbright committee, you may “conditionally accept” the Walsh Award.
When you “conditionally accept,” you promise to let us know within five business days of being awarded a Fulbright if you intend to keep the Walsh Award or not.
You may not receive Walsh Award funding if you accept a Fulbright.
If you decline the award, or do not respond within the five-day period, we will grant the award to the runner up.

19. Questions?
Payal

20. Resources Lindsay Esposito Rosanna Best Corbin: jhu98@msn.com
Assistant Director for Volunteer Leadership
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences
Rosanna Best Corbin:
Payal Patel:
Charlotte James:
Payal