Graduate Fellows
The UWM Systems Change & Peacebuilding Fellows (SCP Fellows) program provides opportunities for students to work side-by-side with community partners while building critical leadership skills in community-building, systems-thinking, facilitation, strategic planning, and evaluation. Fellows provide support for ongoing partner initiatives while also bringing their systems and peacebuilding perspectives, and practicing the ISCP core values of relationships, equity, emergence, and trust.
Graduate Fellow Highlight
Rawand Yazaw (MSP, 2022) fulfilled her graduate fellowship at Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition. Yazaw translates for Arab-speaking clients for MMWC‘s Our Peaceful Home domestic violence program. She designed and coordinated the Youth Leadership program aimed at helping young people better navigate their new lives. Read more about Yazaw in the Wisconsin Muslim Journal.
“I wanted to have the big picture, to be able to make connections and solve problems,” she said. “I just keep going back to what Albert Einstein said, that you can’t solve the world’s problems by using the same kind of thinking that caused them.”
Examples of UWM Systems Change and Peacebuilding Fellow Positions
SCP Fellows positions are co-created on an ongoing basis alongside our community partners to meet both student and partner’s unique needs and interests. Some current placements include:
- Community Wellness Coordinators with the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee and Choice Neighborhood Initiative grant
- Men Ending Violence Facilitator and Curriculum Developer with the Alma Center
- Kiva Capital Access Manager with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation
- Our Peaceful Home Youth Development Facilitator with Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition
- Program Developer and Evaluator with Nia Imani Family
- Refugee Youth Education Developer with Catholic Charities and Bethune Academy
- Assessment and Outreach Coordinator with the Center for Urban Research, Teaching, and Outreach at Marquette University and the Education Preparedness Program Grant
- Innovation and Wellness Research Assistant with Walnut Way Conservation Corps and Dr. Lynne Woehrle
- Re-Entry Fellow: Outreach Coordinator for the Wisconsin Decarceration Platform
Eligibility and Application Process for Students
All SCP Fellows must be current UWM students or have been admitted for the following academic year at the time of selection. An SCP Fellow position includes employment as a Graduate Project Assistant (PA) which includes tuition remission, stipend, and eligibility for university-sponsored health insurance and other benefits. Positions may be structured for the academic year or full calendar year, usually between 13-20 hours per week.
To inquire about a Systems Change & Peacebuilding Fellow position, please complete the “request information” form here or email Marie Sandy sandym@uwm.edu. A funding application will be sent to you. Prospective Fellows will then be invited for interviews with ISCP staff and community partners. Positions will be determined on a rolling basis based on availability and fit.
Develop a Fellow Position with your Organization
To inquire about co-creating a UWM Systems Change and Peacebuilding Fellow position with your organization please contact Dr. Marie Sandy, W.C. Kohler Chair (sandym@uwm.edu).
Agreements can be initiated at any time of year. Fellow positions are typically filled by May for a start date in September, though the timeline can vary depending on the Partner’s needs and availability of students to fill the position.
Request Information
Graduate Fellow Highlight
Victoria Ibiwoye (MSP, 2021) worked with Catholic Charities and the Institute for World Affairs to develop interactive workshops about global issues for elementary and middle school students and teachers in Milwaukee and assisted with a refugee parent education program.
“I am a better leader because of this Fellows position. I am able to contribute more effectively to addressing some of the complex social problems that first led me to the MSP program… My contributions here in Milwaukee, Nigeria, and beyond have strengthened my experience with communication, relationship-building and intellectual humility.”
