Seniors Mark Goldberg and Meghan Sweeney were named as the recipients of the 2003 Dutko Fellowship by the University College of Citizenship and Public Service (UCCPS) yesterday. Four other seniors -- Dianna Darsney, Sam Dangremond, Amy Levin and Allison Luhrs -- were finalists in the competition. Sweeney and Goldberg will both serve ten month long internships in Washington, DC to learn about the world of public policy management. They will also each receive a stipend of $20,000 for the ten month period.
Sweeney will work with the Republican National Committee, and Goldberg will likely work with the New American Foundation -- an organization that Molly Mead, Director of UCCPS, described as a "progressive think-tank."
The fellowship program, which is only three years old, was established by Tufts Trustee and UCCPS Board Member Deborah Jospin (J '80). The fellowship bears the name of her husband Dan Dutko, who died in a mountain biking accident in 1999. He worked as a consultant in Washington, DC and "what he loved to do in life was mentor younger people" who had interests in public service, Mead said.
Based on the students who apply, Jospin custom tailors the program each year. Instead of placing the students into the same positions, Mead said that Jospin uses her "amazing network" of contacts to create new opportunities for each group of fellowship recipients.
After completing the internship, Sweeney and Goldberg will have a springboard of contacts to start careers in public service, politics or related fields if they choose. "I see [the Dutko Fellowship] as an entrance into that world, the intersection of human rights, public policy, and international affairs," Goldberg said.
The selection process for the fellowship involved interviews, recommendations, and a written application, before the final decision was made by Jospin. Organizing the fellowship also required spending time with fellows in order to personalize their internships, Jospin said.
The recipients said that winning the fellowship will allow their childhood dreams to come full circle. "My passion is election politics... Since [the sixth grade] I've always loved politics and elections," Sweeney said.
Similarly, Goldberg has always been "drawn to the idea of working for change. I am living in a world of relative privilege," he said. "It is a duty call to help uplift those [who are] less fortunate or those without a voice."
Tufts is a good place to incubate these political aspirations, many finalists, and both recipients, said. "I've had some amazing mentors at Tufts during the past four years who have shown me the need for, and the potential of, public service," said finalist Amy Levin. Sweeney echoed those remarks, "Thanks to Tufts, I was able to become very involved with a number of local and national campaigns."
Nearly 50 students attended this year's information session about the fellowship and 35 applied for it. Jospin did not reveal the number of students who applied last year, but said that this year saw an increased applicant pool. Although Mead said that the higher number of applications might be attributed to better publicity for the fellowship, Jospin was hopeful that it was driven by increased interest in public service.
When asked if the number of applications could represent such a trend, she said, "I hope so, I think so."
All students are encouraged to apply for the Dutko Fellowship Program, regardless of their credentials. The selection process is "very subjective" and she chooses "not just who has the best grades or resumes," but "interesting people who will add value to the world," Jospin said.
Mead also stressed that the fellowship is for everyone. It is "absolutely for students of democratic, republican, or more conservative or more liberal thought than that," she said.
Political persuasions and career interests have varied in previous years. Past Dutko fellows have interned with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the InterAmerican Development Bank and the National Partnership for Women and Families. One past fellow has gone on to work for Senator Art Pryor of Nebraska, and another plans to attend law school.
As to the projected future of the program, Jospin said that "we'll keep it going for several more years" and keep the number of internships awarded each year to around the same number so that she can spend enough time working with each recipient individually.
For Jospin, the Fellowship is a way to keep the memory of her husband alive. "I looked for a strong academic background, and a strong background in public policy," when selecting students for the internship, "but I was really looking for a spark in them... a spark I can't articulate," Jospin said. That spark, Jospin said, was the same spark she saw in her husband.
Jospin graduated from Tufts in 1980. Intrigued by former President Clinton's call for service as he took office in 1992, Jospin became involved with the AmeriCorps program and worked her way to becoming the first national director. She now works as a consultant in Washington, DC, and is a member of the UCCPS National Advisory Committee.
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