Bring your perspective
Apply or be nominated with an idea, experience, or question you want to explore. Selection values potential, curiosity, and a willingness to grow.
Voice and Innovations for the Public Good Fellowship
Your voice.
Your next chapter.
A lasting impact.
A proposed SDSU fellowship for students to explore bold ideas, important issues, and challenges that affect their lives today and shape their futures. Coaching, mentorship, and community help Fellows share perspectives that matter and contribute to the public good.
Student Voices. Ideas That Matter.
STUDENT VOICESIdeas &
InsightsTODAY &
TOMORROW
InsightsTODAY &
TOMORROW
CONCEPT IMAGERY · FICTIONAL STUDENT PROFILES
10–12FOUNDING FELLOWS
1:1PERSONALIZED COACHING
1½ daysON-CAMPUS EXPERIENCE
One communityCONNECTION BEYOND THE TALK
The Fellowship
A place for the ideas
only you can bring.
Selective. Supportive. Connected.You don’t need a title to have leadership potential. You don’t need to be a polished speaker to have something worth saying.
The Voice and Innovations for the Public Good Fellowship would bring together SDSU students across majors and life experiences to explore innovations, raise important questions, and examine problems that matter to them and their communities. Fellows would develop their voices around issues affecting students today and the world they will help shape tomorrow—from belonging and well-being to opportunity, technology, and the environment.
Led and managed by Lifelong Learning Worldwide in a proposed collaboration with SDSU, the Fellowship pairs expert communication coaching with a shared campus experience and a professionally recorded 3–5-minute talk.
Proposed academic home: School of Communication. Cross-campus eligibility and final program structure to be confirmed.
The Fellow experience
From a spark of an idea
to a voice that carries.
A focused coaching experience within a proposed longer-term community of mentors, peers, and returning Fellows.
Develop your voice
Four individual coaching sessions and two cohort gatherings help you clarify your message, exchange feedback, and build confidence.
Make it memorable
Come together for a 1½-day campus intensive. Connect, rehearse, and professionally record a short talk in your own voice.
Carry it forward
Leave with a professional video and a supportive community. Explore future mentoring, networking, and speaking opportunities as the program develops.
Professional videoPortrait & Fellow profilePeer connectionMentorship pathwayPortfolio-ready work
Fellow Voices for the Public Good
Different perspectives.
Something worth hearing.
A preview of a future Fellows directory. All names, portraits, disciplines, and talk concepts below are fictional examples.
Community · Sample profile
Maya Chen
Social innovation
“Designing belonging”
Leadership · Sample profile
Jordan Brooks
Environmental science
“The courage to begin”
Community · Sample profile
Sofia Ramirez
Public health
“Who gets heard?”
Innovation · Sample profile
Eli Thompson
Engineering
“Building beyond the blueprint”
A community that continues
Someone believes
in your next step.
Then you become
that someone.
Our proposed mentorship model connects each class of Fellows with guidance today—and a way to support the students who follow.
Expert communication coaching
LLW guides idea development, storytelling, and delivery through a defined series of individual and cohort sessions.
Faculty & professional connection
A proposed mentor network would connect Fellows with academic insight, professional perspectives, and relevant campus resources.
Fellows who give back
Returning Fellows could become trained peer mentors and ambassadors, welcoming the next cohort and sharing what they learned.
Learning behind the lens
Production, marketing, and communications students could build portfolios through supervised work on the digital series.
The proposed launch & three-year vision
Start with intention.
Build something enduring.
Planning begins in fall 2026, followed by three fellowship years starting in fall 2027. Proposed milestones remain subject to partner agreement.
Plan, design & secure the foundation
Begin planning, design, and approval of the Voice and Innovations for the Public Good Fellowship in fall 2026. Secure funding for the first three years of the Fellowship by March 1, 2027. Select the first Fellows in spring 2027 to begin in fall 2027.
Welcome the inaugural cohort
The first Fellows, selected in spring 2027, begin in fall 2027. Deliver coaching, mentorship, the in-person experience, and professional story capture throughout the inaugural fellowship year.
Grow the circle
Welcome the second cohort in fall 2028. Invite returning Fellows to support new participants as peer mentors and ambassadors, building on the inaugural year.
Build a lasting tradition
Welcome the third cohort in fall 2029. Strengthen the Fellows community, evaluate outcomes across the first three years, and shape a sustainable future.
An invitation to founding supporters
Invest in a student.
Help a voice carry further.
Founding support would create the time, guidance, and access that help emerging leaders grow—and establish a fellowship that strengthens with each class.
- Personalized coaching & program leadership
- Student access & participation support
- Professional filming, editing & portraits
- A lasting digital collection of student voices
- Mentorship & continued Fellow connection
Funding opportunities and recognition would be developed with SDSU. Student selection and authentic student expression remain central.
A few things to know
Curiosity is a good start.
Who would be eligible to become a Fellow?
The proposed fellowship welcomes perspectives across majors, backgrounds, ages, and life experiences. Final eligibility, nomination procedures, and selection criteria would be established with SDSU. The proposed pilot includes 10–12 Fellows.
How does the Fellowship benefit me as a student Fellow?
The Fellowship would help you build credibility, confidence, and connections—and leave with tangible assets that show what you can contribute.
- Recognition and credibility: Selection for a distinctive fellowship recognizes your perspective, commitment, and leadership potential—an achievement to highlight on your résumé and in applications.
- Professional coaching: Personalized guidance helps you clarify your ideas, tell a compelling story, and communicate confidently on camera, in interviews, and in future presentations.
- Mentorship and a stronger network: Build relationships with fellow students, faculty, alumni, and professionals through the proposed mentor network, with opportunities to receive peer guidance and later support incoming Fellows.
- Visibility for your ideas: With your approval, your talk and profile could reach SDSU audiences through university channels, year-round spotlights, and the proposed permanent Fellows library.
- Professional portfolio assets: Receive a professionally produced talk, portrait, and Fellow profile to strengthen your LinkedIn presence, portfolio, and internship, employment, scholarship, or graduate-school applications.
- A digital credential: A proposed Fellowship badge for your LinkedIn profile could provide a shareable record of your participation and accomplishment.
- Practical leadership skills: Develop your ability to listen, exchange feedback, work across disciplines, and connect your ideas to the public good.
- A community beyond the program: Stay connected with peers and explore future mentoring, networking, and speaking opportunities as the Fellowship grows.
Who can nominate a Fellow?
Faculty, donors, alumni, and Fellows can nominate students for the Fellowship. Final nomination procedures and selection criteria would be established with SDSU.
Do I need public speaking experience?
No previous public speaking experience would be required. Fellows would be selected based on the strength of their ideas, curiosity, commitment, and leadership potential. Professional coaching would help Fellows develop their messages and delivery.
How much time would it take?
The core proposal includes a 4–5-week online preparation period with four 30-minute individual coaching sessions, two cohort Zoom gatherings, independent preparation, and a 1½-day on-campus experience. Any extended mentorship commitments would be defined before applications open.
Would my talk be published?
With each student’s approval, Fellows’ talks would be shared on SDSU YouTube channels and social media channels, and in donor and alumni newsletters as part of the Fellow Voices for the Public Good Series. Fellows could also be spotlighted throughout the year on the SDSU website and other university marketing channels.
A dedicated page on SDSU’s main website could serve as a permanent library of Fellows and their talks, bringing together profiles and professionally recorded videos from each cohort in one growing collection.
Publication permissions and review arrangements would be explained before participation. Fellows would also receive a final video for their own professional and academic use.
Are applications open?
No. This website is a concept mockup for discussion. The first Fellows would be selected in spring 2027 to begin in fall 2027, subject to approvals and funding. The target is to secure funding for the first three fellowship years by March 1, 2027. The application button previews the intended pathway and does not collect submissions.
Potential is the beginning
What do you want people
to see differently?
Bring an idea. Bring your curiosity. Explore how the perspective only you can share could contribute to the public good.