The fellowship is now over. Four weeks of research, writing, learning, companionship, sight-seeing, and inspiration... are now over.
My experience in Austin, TX this summer has been awesome!
The last four weeks have filled me with so many new ideas and have re-inspired my desire to conduct research on the nonprofit sector. I hope that anyone interested in research on philanthropy, the nonprofit sector, and/or issues pertaining to society or community will consider applying for the RGK Summer Fellowship Program class of 2010. There are no specific disciplinary requirements for the program, and Dr. Frumkin says that he looks for "interesting" research questions in selecting fellows. So, if you feel that you have an interesting topic or an interesting research question then I would strongly encourage you to apply!
So, how did the last week of the program unfold?
Well, this last week was devoted to updates. Each fellow provided an update of their progress toward completing their working paper. We received feedback on whether or not we were on the right track, and we continued to provide ideas to one another.
There is some great nonprofit research taking place, and I truly think that there will be some very interesting papers that result out of this program. All of the papers should be posted online on the RGK Center website by July 17, 2009.
In addition to the class time during the day, we also took some time to enjoy a final night of live music in Austin. I believe that we went to a total of four live music venues during our 4-week stay. And, the music was unbelievable.
So not only was this fellowship a great learning opportunity, but it was also a great cultural experience as well. There are so many unique places in Austin (hence the slogan: "Keep Austin weird."), and I don't know if I would have ever gone to Austin (to live for a short while) if it had not been for this fellowship. But, the food, the music, the shopping, the festivals... it was all an experience. An experience that I am so thankful for!
Our farewell gathering took place at Dr Fumkin's home. We had lunch, met his family, and talked about the experience. Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better fellowship experience. Dr. Frumkin created a program that gives back to doctoral students in ways that I don't even think he realizes. But, we (the students) were so amazed and grateful. His research and ideas are a balance of imaginative creativity and pragmatic sensibility.
I am going to miss being a part of this program!
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