We hope you enjoy our second vlog post highlighting a few of the Foundation’s Graduate Fellows as they reflect on their top takeaways from being involved with our Graduate Fellowship Program, both during their time as graduate students and now as alumni navigating their respective career paths. From needed financial support to valuable networking opportunities, these featured Fellows discuss what they feel have been the most important and beneficial aspects of being a part of the Fellowship Network. For those interested, please find additional insights from the Foundation’s Graduate Fellows and much more information on the program on our full Fellowship page.

(Below are some excerpted quotes from recent interviews with some of the Foundation’s Graduate Fellows, followed by the full video commentary.)

“The Fellowship is unique in range of people that come in from different backgrounds…Having that breadth of community is important. It adds a dynamic to the conversations that over time will become more important as people go deeper into their careers and start to have communities that are more focused on a particular area of profession…” - Ben is Founder and CEO of Sightline Maps, an intuitive software platform for 3D printed topographical maps. He received a Graduate Fellowship during his Ph.D. studies at Claremont McKenna College from 2013-2015.

“The Rumsfeld Foundation has allowed me to form new friendships here. I know that at least twice a year I am going to be in D.C. I am going to be with people that I know, but I am also going to be meeting new people and seeing new opportunities...Knowing that a network exists, somewhere other than Texas, has been a really comforting and good opportunity for me…” - Ashlyn is a Ph.D. scholar at the University of Texas at Austin. She received a Graduate Fellowship for her current Ph.D. studies during the 2017-2018 academic year.

“As somebody who pursued a Ph.D. in many years in the academic setting and now working for a non-profit, it is a real joy actually to meet a lot of people who absolutely plan on a twenty or thirty year career working for our country, and it is often a network or type of people that I don't necessarily get to interact with and so I learn a lot from them.” - Gabe is the Executive Director of the Alexander Hamilton Society. He received a Graduate Fellowship during his Ph.D. studies at Georgetown University from 2010-2015.