Apply To Be a Trinity Fellow

Your Graduate School application will ask if you are applying to the Trinity Fellows Program. Click YES. By selecting yes, you will be prompted to complete the Trinity Fellows application requirements as part of the Graduate School/Graduate School of Management application.

Please note the following about the application fee waiver and Letters of Recommendation:

Application fee waived for program applicants

The Graduate School/Graduate School of Management application fee is waived for Trinity Fellows Program applicants. Selecting YES will activate the fee waiver.

Letters of recommendation

Trinity Fellows applicants are required to submit 2 letters of recommendation: 1 academic letters and 1 letters related to the applicant’s service experience. These same letters may also be used to satisfy the letter of recommendation requirements of your academic program and need only be submitted once. Follow the submission guidelines given in your Graduate School/Graduate School of Management application. Additional details are given below.

The Trinity Fellows Application has the following questions, essays, and required uploads

Full-time service and/or nonprofit sector experience
Select the option that best describes how you meet the service/nonprofit work eligibility requirement:

• Completion of Peace Corps, Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Lutheran Volunteer Corps, AmeriCorps, Teach for America and other comparable full -time service commitment
• Completion of 2+ years of full-time employment in the non-profit sector
• Completion of both a service commitment and 2+ years of full-time employment in the non-profit sector

Service and/or nonprofit sector experience summary should include: service/nonprofit, location, title, type of work, year(s) served, skills developed (suggested maximum 300 words)

Resume (1-2 pages, upload)
Submit a resume that includes the following information:

Personal Statement (MAXIMUM 1200 words)
Please ensure that you address the following questions in your essay:

• Why are you applying to the Trinity Fellows Program?
• What impact did your service and/or nonprofit experience have on you personally and professionally?
• How have you demonstrated a commitment to advancing social and economic justice in your life?
• How have you demonstrated a potential for and commitment to leadership?
• Which components of the Trinity Program do you anticipate being the most valuable in helping you achieve your leadership goals?
• What are your goals/ambitions while in the Trinity Fellows Program?
• What are your long-term goals/ambitions? Where do you see yourself after completing this program?

NOTE: The Trinity Fellows Personal Statement is in addition to and unique from the Statement of Purpose required for your graduate program. The Trinity Fellows Selection Committee will review both the Trinity Fellows Personal Statement and the Graduate School Statement of Purpose. Your graduate program will likely only review your required Statement of Purpose.

Nonprofit Assignment (MAXIMUM 300-words per question, feel free to use bullet points)
If accepted, you will be assigned to work at an area nonprofit agency for the 21-month fellowship period. With this in mind, describe your preferences regarding your work assignment. Please include the following points in your answers (each bullet point will have a separate text box):

• Working in Milwaukee - Why are you interested in living and working in Milwaukee? How will working in Milwaukee help shape you as a leader?
  

• Justice Issues - What areas of social and economic justice are you most interested in engaging with at your nonprofit placement? Please note that this list is not exhaustive, please add additional justice issues of interest in the "other" box and feel free to mark as many as you wish.

  Anti-racism & equity work 
  Arts & performing arts 
  Business and economic development  
  Children services 
  Civil legal services   
  College access 
  Community safety 
  Criminal justice and police reform 
  Disability advocacy and support 
  Domestic abuse advocacy 
  Economic justice 
  Education inequities  
  Elder justice 
  Environmental and sustainability issues 
  Family centered support & resources 
  Financial education 
  Food insecurity 
  Gender equality 
  Health inequities  
  Housing discrimination 
  Housing justice 
  Immigration and refugee rights and advocacy 
  Income inequality 
  LGBTQ+ advocacy and resources 
  Literacy services 
  Mental health 
  Philanthropy 
  Policy work 
  Prison reform, reentry and juvenile justice 
  Public health 
  Reproductive rights 
  Substance abuse & addiction 
  Veteran support, advocacy and resources 
  Voter rights and civic engagement 
  Workforce development
  Other identify based justice issues: 
  Other: 

• Preferred Types of Work - When thinking about the types of work you would prefer to take on during the fellowship, what type of responsibilities are you most interested in? Please note these types of work are not guaranteed to be a part of the Fellowship as we receive a variety of agency applications each year. Create checkboxes, include optional text box for “other”

  Advocacy and outreach 
  Analyst 
  Board operations 
  Community outreach & engagement 
  Data analysis 
  Database management 
  Evaluation and assessment 
  Event planning 
  Financial management and budget oversight 
  Fundraising and development 
  Grant writing 
  Grassroots organizing 
  Management  
  Marketing  
  Member or participant coordination 
  Operations  
  Others:  
  Partnership development 
  Policy analysis and policy development 
  Program development and coordination 
  Public relations 
  Recruitment, admissions and enrollment 
  Research 
  Resource management 
  Social media 
  Strategic communications 
  Training 
  Volunteer recruitment and engagement
  Other: 

• Job Duties. Indicate whether there is any type of work you would rather not do.

• Skills to Be Developed - What skills do you want to develop in this program? Please use bullet points.

• Skills You Are Excited to Share with Organization - When considering professional experience so far, please list the skills or strenghs you are excited to share with your placement organization and hope to continue to develop. Please use bullet points.
• Additional Comments. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us about a nonprofit assignment?

Special Circumstances (suggested maximum 300 words) Are there any special circumstances that the Trinity Fellows selection committee should consider when reviewing your application?

Letters of Recommendation* The Trinity Fellows Program requires 1 academic letters and 1 letters related to your service experience, for a total of 2 letters of recommendation.

• 1 Service/Professional: submit one letter of recommendation related to your service experience. You may substitute with a work-related letter here.
• 1 Academic: submit 1 letters of recommendation related to your academic experience.

* The above letters may also be used to satisfy the letter of recommendation requirements of your academic program and need only be submitted once.
* The above letters may also be used to satisfy the letter of recommendation requirements of your academic program and need only be submitted once. All letters should be submitted electronically using the invitations available on the Recommendations tab of your online application. Follow the submission guidelines given in your Graduate School/Graduate School of Management application. 

How to Submit

Your Graduate School/Graduate School of Management application will give you the opportunity to request and submit letters of recommendation using an online system, available as part of the online application. Letters should be submitted electronically using the invitations available on the Recommendations tab of your online application. Follow the submission guidelines given in your Graduate School/Graduate School of Management application. You will be able to check the status of your letters by logging into your application.

Additional Guidance

Provide your recommenders with information about the Trinity Fellows Program and how Trinity and your graduate program of choice fit your educational and career goals.

• Service/work-related letter should be from someone in a supervisory role who can speak about your character, your commitment to service, the work you did, and the quality of your work.
• Your academic letter should offer insight and judgment regarding your academic qualifications for graduate school over and above the letters we'll have regarding your character. Ideally, academic letters should come from a professor and give an indication of what can be expected from you in the classroom.

Keep in mind that the more detailed and specific the letter can be, the better. Therefore, it is often in your interest to remind recommenders about the classes you took with them, how you did, papers or projects you completed for them, etc.

• Finalist interviews take place in February. We invite 25 Finalists each year to participate in a 30-minute virtual interview facilitated by current Fellows and Trinity alumni.
• Trinity Fellowship Award Decisions: applicants will be notified of fellowship award decisions by the end of March. You will receive two decisions tied to admittance, one from the Graduate School and one from the Trinity Fellows Program. These two decisions will be sent separately.
• Required Orientation for awarded Fellows in August: Selected Trinity fellows will be required to attend a new student orientation, tentatively scheduled from August 18th – August 22nd, 2025.  The orientation schedule will run Monday through Friday from approximately 8am – 5pm daily, with an additional evening event tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 20th.

Login to your application  to see the remaining items in your checklist. Please note application materials that have been recently submitted may not be processed yet. It may take 3-4 business days to process received materials and mark them as received on your checklist.

If you have questions regarding what application materials are required, or how to submit application materials, please consult the Application Instructions and Guidelines (http://marquette.edu/grad/future-apply.php).

If you believe that your Checklist is inaccurate, or if you have a question regarding any items that are remaining on your list, please email the Graduate School.

 

Questions regarding Trinity Fellows Program application? Email Alisha Klapps Balistreri or call 414-288-0260.