Undergraduate Academic Affairs

February 21, 2023

More than money: Scholarships, jobs, internships map to students’ interests

Jenelle Birnbaum and Danielle Marie Holland

Illustration of figures and representations of dollar bills floating in a sunrise sky. People are catching the dollars, floating with them.

Original illustration by Burke Smithers

Editor’s note: This article was updated in February 2023. Thank you to the students and UAA staff members who contributed.

Here in Undergraduate Academic Affairs, we are excited to offer a broad range of funded opportunities — scholarships, internships and jobs — that map to students’ interests.

Quick links to additional campus-wide resources
The Office for Student Financial Aid is a good first stop to learn about campus-wide opportunities including scholarships beyond what’s covered here.
– The Husky Promise guarantees Washington state residents that financial challenges will not stand in the way.
– The Career and Internship Center helps students find paid positions.

Most UAA programs offer front desk positions that are critical to the program’s daily operations. In addition, our programs have developed unique pathways to help students gain paid experience in their area of interest. For many students, this presents an opportunity they couldn’t otherwise pursue and might include being in a research lab, K-12 schools, community organizations, international experiences, a professional setting and even grad school. Though the experiences are varied, our staff’s dedication to supporting students as they develop their career goals, build a sense of community, make a difference, and apply their academics beyond the classroom are common threads.

Through these roles, students find and learn about: professional mentorship, civic responsibility, leadership development, independence, problem-solving skills, flexibility, communication and equity training. Students also get a head start on building their professional networks and develop a rich set of experiences that set them up to find meaning in their careers and as members of a community.

Read on to learn about what’s available through UAA, including community-based work, leadership development, scholarships and research. They are ordered by program below, or use the accordion organization to jump around.

Academic Support Programs

Opportunities

  • Academic success coaches: Coach other students in one-on-one sessions to provide academic support for topics like time management, study strategies, motivation, navigating resources at the UW and more.
  • CLUE tutors: Tutor students individually in a specific subject area or lead exam review sessions.
  • CLUE front desk managers: Support the on-the-ground operations of CLUE by answering questions, supporting tutors and welcoming visitors.

What you’ll gain

CLUE tutors and academic support coaches

  • Empowerment from sharing your own story and relating to other Huskies’ experiences because you’ve been there.
  • An aptitude to identify and address the needs of the person you are meeting with, one-on-one, in real-time.
  • Public speaking practice by giving presentations, leading sessions and workshops.
  • Familiarity with using language to provide equitable support while encouraging growth mindset and resilience development.

Front desk managers

  • An ability to manage multiple, complex systems at once, while making sure the needs of different stakeholders are met.
  • Communication skills working with students, tutors and colleagues through both verbal and written modes.

From each of the three roles

  • Communication skills to work with colleagues to ensure programming runs smoothly and that students’ needs are met.
  • Interpersonal skills gained through working with diverse groups of people.
  • Training in educational equity, histories of exclusion and strategies for inclusion at the UW.

What people are saying

Photo of Gracie Pakosz sitting outside on a small wall near tulips

Gracie Pakosz, lead academic success coach

The position of academic success coach means being part of supporting equitable higher education by providing guidance and support for other students, especially fellow first-gen students. Supporting other first-gen students has given me a sense of belonging at the UW. It is very fulfilling to be able to give back the knowledge I worked to gain navigating university by myself. Working independently with students also gave me the direct-service experience that I need to work as a legal intern. By working with ASP, I have a team of coaches who care about my academic and personal success. This position has given me a sense of community and support on campus which has helped me succeed academically.

— Gracie Pakosz, ‘21, integrated social sciences
Current second-year student, School of Law, and lead academic success coach

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Community Engagement and Leadership Education Center (CELE Center)

Dream Project

Opportunities

  • College and career readiness assistants mentor middle and high school students in under-resourced schools to support their planning for life after high school, including the college application process.
  • Mentorship coordinator interns have previously taken the CELE Center’s Dream Project Introduction to Mentoring Strategies course. Mentorship coordinator interns lead the quiz section for this class, accompany current mentorship course students in high school classrooms and coach peers through their on-site work.

What you’ll gain

  • Insight into educational equity in relation to educational access and post-secondary planning as well as the challenges under-resourced schools face.
  • Better understanding of communication techniques that take into account the identities of who you are working with (middle and high school students from diverse backgrounds).
  • An understanding of post-secondary planning basics including the financial aid process, editing personal statements and writing resumes.
  • An opportunity to work independently with a high level of responsibility while being supported by a professional at the school.
  • Experience developing programs that best meet the needs of the school you are working in.
  • Sense of professionalism by learning boundary-setting.
  • Budding professional network, possibly leading to a job. Dream Project alumni are sometimes hired into professional positions at their Dream Project site.

What people are saying

Photo of Anthony Berry

Anthony Berry, ’19, high school career specialist

It’s difficult to bring to words the true impact that Dream Project made in my professional development, academic trajectory and personal growth. Importantly, my involvement has allowed me to view the education system through a more social justice and equitable lens. Rather than just good intentions, you begin to recognize the true importance of empowerment, advocacy, service learning and collaboration. Through this, I’ve formed some of the most meaningful relationships that’ll last a lifetime. Receiving a stipend for my leadership roles in UW Dream Project has definitely made a difference. My first three years at this university, I was having to deal with early commutes to campus and late commutes back home. But, with my roles having stipends I was able to get housing near campus for my senior year which has made a tremendous difference in my campus experiences. 

— Anthony Berry, ’19, public health-global health
Former lecture lead and college and career readiness assistant
Current high school career specialist

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Jumpstart

Opportunities

  • Jumpstart AmeriCorps members work with preschoolers in historically under-resourced communities on literacy, language and socio-emotional development skills to prepare them for kindergarten.
  • Team leaders play a crucial part in ensuring high-quality programming is delivered by their team of four to five AmeriCorps members, which involves facilitating meetings, coaching members and participating in team leader meetings.
  • Program assistants focus on curriculum development, day-to-day operations of the program, social media and Jumpstart member recruitment.
  • Student equity officers run safe, student-only forums to discuss social justice topics selected by the Corps members.

What you’ll gain

  • Strategies for effectively working with 3-5-year-olds through more than 50 hours of live and self-led training in early childhood education.
  • A broader understanding of social justice issues, particularly those affecting educational inequities in Seattle and beyond.
  • An ability to meld various work, communication and teaching styles by team teaching.
  • Support developing and refining your unique leadership style.
  • Hourly pay as a federal work study student for Jumpstart service and training.
  • The AmeriCorps Segal Education Award, upon completing 300 hours of service, which can be used for tuition and current qualifying student loans.
  • Access to service-learning placements, internship placements and capstone requirements through Jumpstart, including the ability to enroll in LEAD 298A to earn two credits.
  • Support for career development that includes guidance from BIPOC professionals to help you build your network and find jobs.
  • Job skills that apply across fields based on your broad teaching, leadership and collaboration experiences as a Corps member.
  • Access to an incredible network of professionals and alumni through AmeriCorps, Jumpstart National, and the Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center.

What people are saying

Photo of Erick Pelayo

Erick Pelayo, ‘24, former Jumpstart team leader

The overall time I have spent in Jumpstart has shown me that working with young children requires patience and a lot of energy, but it is also very rewarding. I have been able to see how children can come out of their comfort zone and how they are willing to learn when given the proper support. As someone who grew up in a low-income household and did not have much exposure to high quality early education, I can say confidently that having more exposure to quality education practices can really make a difference in a child’s future. In my time in Jumpstart, I have realized that I would like to become a child psychologist or a teacher depending on where my career may lead me.

— Erick Pelayo, ‘24, sociology
Former Jumpstart team leader

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Riverways Education Partnerships

Opportunity

Native Pathway guides are Indigenous UW students who share their personal stories with K-12 students to teach them about different pathways to college, including starting at community college before transferring to a 4-year institution.

What you’ll gain

  • A sense of empowerment by sharing your story — which is also inspiring for the students you are working with.
  • A paycheck to mentor younger students and support your community.
  • Experience administering a complex program that involves connecting with partners, setting up workshops and creating tools for future students to use.
Photo of Tanya Eison

Tanya Eison, former Riverways Education Partnerships rural and tribal facilitator

What people are saying

Riverways has allowed me to learn more about the Makah Tribe. My undergraduate team members and the teachers and students in Neah Bay are all amazing, and I’m thankful for having the opportunity to meet them all through this program. The 5th graders are always so excited to see us and leave us in great spirits as we continue our days at UW. Riverways has personally benefited my community on my own reservation. The Taholah Education Center has become one of our community partners and is partaking in the alternative spring break week for the first time this year! One of the key highlights that I will take away from this position when I graduate is that a great partnership requires respect, communication and dedication to succeed. I hope to continue to utilize these teachings in my future professions.

Tanya Eison, citizen of the Quinault Indian Nation
Former Native Pathway guide
Former Riverways Education Partnerships rural and tribal facilitator and graduate student in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs

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Undergraduate Community-Based Internship Program

Opportunities

Paid internships at nonprofits and public sector organizations.

What you’ll gain

  • A $4,500 stipend to explore public service careers while working in and for local communities.
  • A customized learning plan you develop with your site manager to ensure you gain the experience you’re looking for and your host organization receives support for meaningful projects.
  • Support and frameworks for making meaning of your internship through weekly cohort meetings led by experienced graduate student mentors.
  • Insight into social justice, the complexity of our identities, leadership development and self-care.
  • Career development that covers storytelling for interviews, job searching, writing resumes and cover letters and building your network.
  • Increased clarity on your values, professional interests and career pathways.

What people are saying

Photo of Kimmy Nguyen sitting outside at sunset

Kimmy Nguyen, former UCBI intern

As a UCBI intern, “I was part of a cohort with other passionate students. We built a community and I got to learn and hear from students of diverse backgrounds and experiences. We were able to connect through our weekly cohort meetings and small groups led by mentors and staff. I learned more about my intersection of identities, the privileges I hold, and how to engage with our communities authentically and compassionately. Being partnered with a nonprofit focused on housing and community development in the International District, I connected with high school students who shared similar identities as me and learned from nonprofit professionals.”

Kimmy Nguyen, ’20, medical anthropology and global health
Former UCBI intern 

Fellowships

Opportunities

  • Ellis Civic Fellows: A four-year program during which you explore interests in service and leadership and bring together your academic and community-engaged work.
  • NextGen Civic Leaders Corps: A partnership with the Evans School that brings together like-minded undergraduate students for networking and exploration of topics around community engagement, leadership development and public service. 
  • NextGen Public Service Fellowships: Civic leadership internships in the nonprofit and government sectors.

What you’ll gain

Ellis Civic Fellows
  • Tuition support of $12,000 across four years.
  • Tailored advising and mentorship to bring together their academic and community-engaged work.
NextGen Civic Leaders Corps
  • Preferential access to scholarship and fellowship funding.
  • Nonprofit and government learning opportunities, including internships and mentorship programs.
  • Connections and community building with other students.
NextGen Public Service Fellowships
  • A stipend for completing a public service internship or summer project.
From each of the three fellowships
  • A lifelong commitment to community and public service and personal growth.
  • Support and frameworks for developing as a civic leader.
  • Support in exploring coursework in leadership and public policy.

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First Year Programs

Opportunities

  • Orientation leaders work on a team of 30 along with First Year Programs career and studnet staff and other UW staff, faculty and leaders to support all incoming first-year students’ transition to the University of Washington.
  • Student assistants interact daily with first-year students, their families, University administrators, faculty and staff.
  • Student coordinators are highly visible on the UW campus and interact daily with newly admitted students, their parents, University administrators, faculty and staff.

What you’ll gain

Orientation leaders

  • Compensation from June to August and benefits of up to three credits earned.
  • Community engagement as you share UW’s values, culture and traditions with new students, increasing a sense of communal belonging and pride in being a UW student.
  • Development of skills as you facilitate small groups, demonstrate time management, flexibility, problem-solving, critical thinking and navigate digital and virtual tools and systems.

Student assistants

  • Hourly compensation and benefits as you work with friendly staff in a supportive, team-oriented environment.
  • UW community engagement as you respond to inquiries about the UW from students and their families by phone, email and text.
  • Development of customer service, flexibility, problem-solving and critical thinking skills as you work collaboratively and g, navigate digital and virtual tools/systems.

Student coordinators

  • Hourly compensation and benefits as you work with friendly staff in a supportive, team-oriented environment.
  • UW community engagement as you serve as a liaison between professional staff and program-specific student staff members in support of office and program operations.
  • Development of flexibility, problem-solving and critical thinking skills as you work collaboratively with other FYP staff members to support registration, preparation and logistics.

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Honors Program

Opportunities:

  • Scholarships for Honors students cover a range of experiences, including tuition, international programs and access to experiential learning opportunities. Below are a few scholarships; visit the UW Honors website to learn more about scholarships in the Honors Program.
  • Honors Undergraduate Scholar Awards for 4 year residents, partial residents and non-residents offer tuition waivers. These awards are one-time, non-renewable awards.
  • The Professor Roger and Jane Soder Equity Scholarship supports Honors students who are Washington state residents of high potential and financial need and who have a demonstrated commitment to diversity and equity.
  • Second-year Interdisciplinary Honors Admissions offers a limited number of partial tuition awards to UW students applying for second-year admission to the Interdisciplinary Honors Program.
  • The Bonderman Fellowship provides $23,000 for eight months of travel, spread over six countries and two continents. Note: In 2023 this is open to graduate students at all three UW campuses.

What you’ll gain

  • Learn through travel as you meet new people, and experience places and cultures outside of their comfort zone. 
  • Discover and develop your resilience and adaptability through new situations.
  • A global perspective informed by your travels to impact and shape your future.

What people are saying

Before this trip, I had a goal-driven existence that, however unconsciously, made my self-worth conditional upon achievement. The unstructured nature of the fellowship gave me the opportunity to redefine worthiness. I had to be comfortable determining if I was taking advantage of this incredible gift on my own without any external validation. I started the — lifelong, probably — process of giving up harsh judgments and strict expectations for a more accepting, embracing attitude.

— Dashni Amin, ’15, law, societies and justice with College Honors
Bonderman Fellow, 2015-16

Photo of Dashni Amin in Turkey

Dashni Amin in Konya, Turkey, where she visited the tomb of 13th-century mystic and poet Rumi.

The quote and photo here originally appeared as part of “Wandering and Wondering,” a story about Bonderman Fellows’ experiences.

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Mary Gates Endowment for Students

Opportunities

  • Academic year scholarships: $5,000 scholarships ($2,500 per quarter for two quarters) for undergraduates to pursue research and/or leadership projects.
  • The summer CoMotion Mary Gates Innovation Scholars program funds full-time summer internships in faculty-led start-up initiatives. Students will contribute to the development of these companies and gain exposure to the aspects involved in building a new product or business based on University-created intellectual property.

What you’ll gain

  • Skills and confidence in your abilities as a researcher, leader and innovator.
  • Funds to create a leadership project as you refine your academic and career goals. 
  • A community of Mary Gates Scholars to learn from and share ideas for navigating projects and overcoming challenges.
  • Experience working alongside faculty, graduate students, staff and peers doing work that matters and that contributes to exciting new ideas.
  • The ability to make an impact on the research field or communities and systems that you are passionate about.
  • Preparation for graduate school-style research by developing independence in Mary Gates research projects.
  • Relationships with mentors who help guide projects and support your development as a scholar and leader.
  • An understanding of how research ideas and results are transformed into innovative applications for commercial and community benefit.

What people are saying

Research has its shares of ups and downs. While frustrating, I have learned just as much, if not more, from troubleshooting my failures as my successes. My mentors have been there every step, offering guidance and pushing me to develop as a researcher, engineer and thinker. Being able to do research at this level as an undergraduate has shaped my interests and career path already, and I am excited to see how I build on this experience in my future.

— Jonah Kern, ‘22, bioengineering
two-time Mary Gates Research awardee

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Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards

Opportunities

Connections to scholarships to support students’ goals and identification of a broad range of opportunities for current undergraduate studies, future graduate training, international experiences and summer programs.

What you’ll gain

  • Help identifying opportunities you may not have considered and support through the scholarship application process, clarifying and articulating near and long-term goals.
  • Preparation for scholarship interviews that teach you how to tell your story and share goals clearly and concisely.
  • A strong network of mentors to support scholarship applications as well as other applications or even serve as references for future employers.
  • Skills and confidence to directly apply to other applications and interviews, such as scholarships, fellowships, grad school and jobs.

What people are saying

Photo of Milli Wijenaike-Bogle

Milli Wijenaike-Bogle, ’22, public health major and data science minor

Although it was disappointing at the time to not receive the scholarship I applied to, the scholarship application process was a reward in itself. The confidence I gained from the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards Director Robin Chang’s support and knowing that I had seven or eight people who would take time out of their incredibly busy schedules to write a letter for me was instrumental in taking a risk by applying to competitive graduate schools in public health. Having all my application materials for graduate school ready in September before school started was invaluable. The scholarship application process in itself can inform your path and/or understanding of yourself in ways you might not expect.

— Milli Wijenaike-Bogle, ’22, public health

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Undergraduate Academic Affairs Advising

Opportunity

Peer advisers hold 5-15 minute drop-in advising sessions and answer general advising emails.

What you’ll gain

  • An understanding of communication skills, policies and procedures, advising, motivational interviewing and racial equity through extensive, multi-day training in June and September.
  • Skills to apply to your future career, regardless of the field. Alumni share how active listening, problem-solving, understanding policy and communicating with a vast array of constituents benefit their careers.
  • Program support for entering the workforce or graduate school. There are alumni panels, resume and cover letter workshops and a strong network for informational interviews and letters of reference.
  • An entry point for those interested in a career in higher education. Many advising staff members on campus worked as peer advisers during their time in undergrad.

What people are saying

Photo of Lily Peterson

Lily Peterson, ’20, UW academic adviser, Path to UW transfer adviser

The peer advising role connected me with mentors and colleagues across campus who were able to connect me with opportunities and informational interviews to support my own personal and professional development. I believe networking and conversations are key to personal growth and professional opportunities, and this role brought me into spaces where I was able to learn more about what roles are in higher education beyond just teaching. Ultimately this role solidified my desire to pursue advising professionally and benefitted me by equipping me with knowledge and connections in advance so I had a support system in the transition out of UW into the professional world.

— Lily Peterson, ’20, education, communities and organizations
Former peer adviser
Current UW academic adviser, Path to UW transfer adviser

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Undergraduate Research Program

Opportunities

What you’ll gain

  • Funding to pursue research: The Washington Research Fellowship provides $7,500 in funding; Levinson awards up to $8,000; and SIAH provides $6,000 scholarships.
  • Travel funding to present your original research at a conference in your field. 
  • A community of peers engaged in research to learn and grow with.
  • Mentors to help guide your research and support you through the process.
  • Experience presenting research to a range of audiences.

What people are saying

Photo of Molly Gasperini

Molly Gasperini, ’12, ’19, senior scientist at Cajal Neuroscience

“The Levinson Emerging Scholar Award first spurred me to think of myself as a scientific scholar. This was the first investment in me as an individual researcher. Not only did it allow me to pursue crucial early research experience free of financial burden, but it also gave me the confidence to see myself as someone whose time could be spent in the pursuit of learning and scientific advancement. This confidence is often lacking in young female scientists, and the Levinson was crucial for me to overcome my self-doubt.”
— Molly Gasperini, ’12, ’19, B.S. biology; Ph.D. genome sciences
Senior scientist at Cajal Neuro

Mark your calendar!

The 26th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium is Friday, May 19, 2023. Hear undergrads present their original research in fields ranging from art to zoology.

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