The Scholar Development and Fellowships Advising office offers a wide variety of opportunities for students to enrich their studies, connect with mentors in their field and help finance their time at Temple University. One Fellowship that many Honors students look to for such resources is the Smith Scholars program, supported by the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust.
The Smith Scholars program offers mentorship, advising and financial support to 7-10 new students each year. New scholars join the community of current scholars and benefit from all the program has to offer from the time they are accepted to the time they graduate.
To apply, students must be from the greater Philadelphia area and have at least four full semesters remaining at Temple after submitting their application. They also must demonstrate community involvement, persistence in the face of obstacles and financial need.
"It challenges you to both state your purpose of being here and what you plan to do in the future," said recent alum Lloyd Yoo, ENG '24.
Yoo's sister was a Smith Scholar several years ago, so he was already familiar with the program. However, his decision to apply was based on the community and mentorship he hoped to gain and goals he set for himself during the application process. Though he applied as a freshman, he found it beneficial to be tasked with thinking ahead, even past graduation, as he stated his purpose for applying.
Rising junior Geralynn Razo found out about the program via an email from Director of Scholar Development and Fellowships Advising Barbara Gorka. Razo found the application process to be so reflective that she ended up changing her major. Originally pursuing Secondary Social Studies Education, Razo realized that even though she was passionate about education, she was more focused on Education Policy and switched to major in History with a minor in Public Policy.
Rising senior and Math and Physics double major Sarah Lampreich also heard about the program through Gorka and immediately became interested in the cohort aspect of it.
"It's really nice to have a support system of people that are in very similar situations to you," Lampreich said.
Once a semester, all the Smith Scholars get together to discuss what they are up to and what their future plans are. Lampreich noted that it is nice to see other people that are like her being successful, and that just being a part of the program pushes her to be a better version of herself.
"I knew it was a great program for me because it provided a strong foundation of mentorship for future academic goals," wrote rising senior Computer Science student Andrew Tran. "Specifically, the Smith Scholars program helped me prepare my application for a graduate school fellowship."
Yoo also took advantage of the Smith Scholars advising team to discuss graduate school and felt that he had a constant reminder of other opportunities that are out there. Now, he is pursuing his Ph.D. at Rutgers University!
The Smith Scholars program is made of students from any major, interest and background. Razo, a first-generation college student and vice president of First-Gen Honors, is grateful for the guidance the program has given her as she navigates her college career.
"I really did not know anything coming into college," Razo said. "Just having the support such as the Honors program and Fellowships program has truly helped me discover things that I was not aware were attainable for people like me."
"I think that if you fit the eligibility requirements for it, then you should apply!" Tran wrote. "From my experience, mentorship goes a long way into helping you build your career."
As scholars like Yoo graduate and leave the nest, new ones will be notified this summer if they are to join Razo, Lampreich and Tran in the 2024-2025 cohort!