Each year, the Carolina Center for Public Service (CCPS) offers support for 10 Carolina graduate and professional students to share their expertise with undergraduate students engaged in service in the community and on campus. BPSS graduate assistants are required to facilitate at least two skills trainings for Buckley Public Service Scholars program (BPSS) participants, assist in the review process of BPSS portfolios submitted by graduating seniors and share information about their experiences in graduate school. Each graduate student receives a stipend of $600 during the course of the year upon completion of these program responsibilities.
BPSS skills trainings and senior reflection review
To graduate as a Buckley Public Service Scholar, undergraduate students enrolled in the program must complete at least four approved skills trainings, each connected to at least one of the following topics:
- Advocacy and community organizing
- Diversity and cultural awareness
- Effective communication
- Ethics and leadership
- Evaluation and applied research
- Financial management
- Fundraising, grant writing and philanthropy
- Planning and assessment
- Service-specific training (e.g. rape crisis counseling or ESL instruction)
- Social entrepreneurship and innovation
Skills trainings must be interactive and designed for participants to build and practice skills. Events where students simply learn information or gain awareness (such as through a lecture, panel or presentation) do not apply. All trainings must be a minimum of one hour in length, though many are two or three hours.
In addition to offering two skills trainings, BPSS graduate assistants will serve on a graduate student panel and respond to the senior reflection submissions of 20-30 senior BPSS participants, offering feedback on their attempts to synthesize and make meaning of their public service experiences while enrolled in the program.
Application information
Applications to become a 2016-2017 BPSS graduate assistant are open until April 4, 2016. The position starts in August 2016. Graduate and professional students can apply online at unc.edu/ccps/portal/. For more information, contact Ryan Nilsen at rbnilsen@unc.edu or (919) 843-6829 or visit BPSS online.