Wellman Hill Political Science Internship Grants are made possible by a generous gift from Elizabeth Hill (B.A., M.A. 1997) to honor her grandfather, Wellman Hill. They are intended to encourage Political Science majors to pursue and accept public service summer internships. One of the goals is to open public service career possibilities to students whose access to such internships might be limited by financial constraints or other circumstances.
The 2025 applications are now open. Application details are below.
To be eligible, a student must be, at the time of application, a Political Science major, have taken at least one CWRU Political Science course, and have a minimum 3.0 GPA in the major. In addition, eligible applicants must not have plans to graduate earlier than the December after the internship period.
Interested students can find the online application here. Candidates must submit their complete application by Friday, January 31 by 5:00 p.m. The application consists of the following:
- Application, including a list of public service internships to which candidates have applied or intend to apply
- A personal statement
- A résumé
- A letter of reference from a CWRU faculty member (See Guidelines for Reference Writers.) Deadline Monday, February 3, 2025
Applicants that advance to the second round will be invited to interview with the Wellman Hill Committee comprised of Political Science faculty and alumni.
Grant recipients and alternates will be notified in April. After notification, a grantee must confirm acceptance of a committee-approved internship or request a deferment until the next summer. If a grant recipient is unable to confirm acceptance and chooses not to defer, alternative candidates will be contacted.
Grant recipients are required to submit short reports on their internship experiences no later than October 1, 2024.
Internship Guidelines:
Acceptable internships must meet the following criteria:
- Internships must be public service oriented
- Internships must be related to politics or policy
- Internships must take place during the summer
- Internships must last at least 6 weeks.
Grants will not be awarded for internships of the following nature:
- Washington Center internships
- Political campaign internships
- Internships with corporations or large think tanks
- Highly paid internships
- Please note that internships providing modest compensation are still eligible for this program; if you have questions about this condition, please contact Professor Posner.
This program is a merit-based award based in part on applicants’ track records at CWRU; as such, while we will actively consider applications from first-year students, awards in most years tend to go to more advanced students who have had time to establish a more robust set of skills and experiences.
If you have questions about the eligibility of an internship, please contact Professor Elliot Posner. For help finding internships, we suggest reading the reports of past Wellman Hill grant recipients. Students are also encouraged to contact Aysegul Keskin Zeren, the Public Service Career Interest Area Lead at The Career Center.
Public service internships can be found in all levels of government and public-interest and non-profit advocacy organizations, to give some of the obvious examples. While a useful place to start may be organizations that hired previous Wellman Hill recipients, the selection committee is open to the full range of appropriate internships and encourages students to be creative and thoughtful in their searches. Because of the pandemic, we encourage applicants to be as flexible as possible and consider online summer internships.
The committee will make grant decisions largely on the basis of two criteria: the extent to which the internships on the applicants’ lists meet the program’s public service goals; and the extent to which applicants’ interests, goals and qualifications match their proposal to serve the public through a summer internship. Finding internships takes time, so applicants are encouraged to begin their search as early as possible.
To learn more about how The Career Center can help you with your Wellman Hill application and internship search, please view this video from Aysegul Keskin Zeren, Assistant Director for Student Experience.
2024
2023
2022
Dylan Jewell – Ohio Citizen Action, Cleveland, OH
2021
2020
2019
2018
1. Kirsten Costedio, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Cleveland, Ohio
2. Gillian Prater-Lee, Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, Cleveland, Ohio
3. Timothy O’Shea, Cuyahoga County Agency of Inspector General, Cleveland, Ohio
4. Ann Marie Smetona, U.S. Department of State – U.S. Embassy Bern, Bern, Switzerland
5. Amanda Spangler, Geauga County Court of Common Pleas, Chardon, Ohio
(Click here to to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2018)
2017
1. Kirsten Costedio, Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus, Cleveland, Ohio
3. Kelsey Holmberg, Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-07), District Office Intern; Jackson Michigan
5. Jacob Sandstrom, Office of the District Attorney, Chautauqua County, New York
(Click here to to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2017)
2016
1. Hanno Fenech, Green-Iowa Americorps
2. Temi Omilabu, White House, Office of Presidential Correspondence
3. Elizabeth Taylor, Attorney General’s Office, Massachusetts
4. Daniel Williams, Social Justice Fellow, CEOs for Cities
(Click here to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2016)
2015
1. Phil Hoffert, Federal Public Defender’s Office, Cleveland, Ohio
2. Olivia Ortega, International Rescue Committee’s Immigration Department, Oakland, California
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3. Hayley Rassuchine, Catholic Charities Migrant and Refugee Services, Cleveland, Ohio
5. Kassandra Stewart, The Legal Aid Society, Cleveland, Ohio
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6. Elizabeth Taylor, The Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, Frankfort, Kentucky
(Having been awarded a grant from another CWRU source, Ms. Taylor declined Wellman Hill funding.)
(Click here to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2015)
2014
1. Caroline Bass, The Ethics Group of the American Medical Association, Chicago, Illinois
2. Andrew Breland, The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3. Destinee Henton, Policy Bridge, Cleveland, Ohio
4. Krithika Rajkumar, Human Rights Law Network, Chennai, India
(Click here to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2014.)
2013
1. Mitchell Diles, Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
2. Shivani Parikh, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
3. Hannah Steele, International Rescue Committee at their Refugee Youth Summer Academy (RYSA)
4. Beth Vitale, CASA for Kids of Geauga County, Ohio
5. Silvana Zapata-Ramirez, Malaria Operation of Meaningful Volunteer (Uganda)
(Click Here to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2013.)
2012
1. Zachary Arace, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Washington, D.C.
2. Alexander Avdakov, Cuyahoga County Public Defender’s Office, Cleveland, Ohio
3. Ellen Kubit, Policy Matters Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio
4. Derek Reinbold, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C.
5. Abigail Whisler, Public Policy Fellowship at the Cuyahoga County Executive Office, Cleveland Ohio
6. Irina Yakubenko, Moms First Program, Cleveland Department of Health, Cleveland, Ohio
(Click Here to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2012.)
2011
1. John Drennan, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Washington, D.C.
2. Daniel Griffith, West Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court, Boston, Massachusetts
3. David Holcomb, Federal Reserve Bank, Cleveland, Ohio
4. Apurva Kaushik, Misra Law Firm, LLC, Cleveland, Ohio
(Click Here to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2011.)
2010
2. Caitlin Cipicchio, Northeast-Midwest Institute, Washington, D.C.
3. Lauren Geiser, Middle East Research Information Project [MERIP], Washington, D.C.
4. Kenley Jones, Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia
5. Brandon Mordue, Policy Matters Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio
(Click Here to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2010.)
2009
1. Nicholas Hilgeman, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.
2. Alexandra (Sasha) Klyachkina, Genocide Intervention Network, Washington, D.C.
4. Mirela Turc, Policy Matters Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio
5. Madeline Van Gunten, Cleveland Department of Public Health, Cleveland, Ohio
(Click Here to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2009.)
2008
1. Jane Kaminski, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.
2. Hema Krishna, Genetic Alliance, Washington, D.C.
3. Komal Patel, Unite for Sight, Dhenkanal, India
4. Nicholas Sachanda, Cook County State’s Attorney Office, Chicago, Illinois
5. Sarah Tolbert, Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia
(Click Here to read the full Wellman Hill Grants Competition report for 2008.)
The Friends and Alumni of the Wellman Hill Political Science Internship Grants Program Fund
We have launched a fundraiser to mark the tenth anniversary of the Wellman Hill Internships Grants Program. When we reach our goal, the new fund (“The Friends and Alumni of the Wellman Hill Political Science Internship Grants Program Fund” ) will support one additional internship grant each year.
The Wellman Hill Political Science Internship Grants Program, created by Elizabeth Hill (B.A. 1997) to honor her grandfather, Wellman Hill, currently funds 4 to 5 public service internships for CWRU Political Science majors each summer. Past recipients and their reports can be found here. The purpose of “Friends and Alumni of the Wellman Hill Political Science Internship Grants Program Fund” is to support the Wellman Hill Political Science Internship Grants Program by permitting its Selection Committee to fund one additional student from the annual pool of candidates.
Donors can make their contribution to “Friends of Wellman Hill” in numerous ways:
- Cash, check or credit card
- Electronic fund transfers
- Gifts of stocks or bonds
- Other types of assets
Learn more about giving by contacting the College of Arts and Sciences Development and External Affairs Office at 1.800.360.5308 or collegesupport@cwru.edu.
Or, to make a contribution today using a credit card, visit the university’s secure website: giving.cwru.edu/casgiving. To allocate your gift to the Wellman Hill Political Science Internship Grants Program Fund, simply enter the amount you would like to give, then add “Friends of Wellman Hill” in the “Special Instructions” box.
You can also mail your contribution to:
College of Arts and Sciences
Case Western Reserve University
10900 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7068
Please be sure to include instructions, such as “Friends of Wellman Hill” so that your gift is properly allocated.
Thank you for your support!