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Program looks for civic leaders

City Hall Fellows, a civic leadership development program, will visit the University Center from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today.

An information table will be available to graduating students with questions regarding the non-profit program, executive director and founder Bethany Henderson, said.

"The goal of the program is to connect the next generation of civic leaders with the opportunity to make change at the local level of government," Henderson said.

Henderson will host a presentation at the UC Patio.

Fellows is looking for 20 applicants to participate in the 12-month program running concurrent with a full-time, paid job within the city governments of Houston and San Francisco.

Ten students will be sent to work in Houston and 10 will be sent to San Francisco, Henderson said.

"This will be the inaugural year for the program, and we are working very close with the mayors’ offices of Houston and San Francisco," Henderson said.

Applications – which are due Feb. 29 – can be found on the Fellows’ Web site.

The program has no grade-point average cut-off, but students are required to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution by the program’s start date of Aug. 4, 2008, according to the Web site.

The program begins with a three-week training program before the participants are placed in the mayor’s office of their city, Henderson said.

Henderson said the program was designed with the support of Houston Mayor Bill White and the office of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

"It is a great opportunity for students to focus their energy, talents and enthusiasm on many of our most pressing issues," White said in a Fellows press release. "I expect they will find it fascinating and challenging work. I look forward to having them as our partners."

The program looks for students with strong communication skills, academic achievement, leadership potential, a dedication to contributing to society and an entrepreneurial spirit, Henderson said.

The application consists of a series of essay questions to be completed with an attached cover page, r’eacute;sum’eacute;, letter of recommendation and transcript, according to the Web site.

For students with additional questions or who cannot make it to the information table, Henderson will host live Internet sessions at 4 p.m Friday. and at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Students are required to call ahead in order to participate.

For more information regarding these sessions and the Fellows program, visit www.cityhallfellows.org.

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