Funding Internships for Students of Color Just months after Nihal Goonewardene, F73, F75, graduated
He is now the lead fundraiser and advocate for an initiative
from the Fletcher School, Dean Edmund Gullion sent him to
close to his heart—an internship fund established in 2011
Manila to establish a presence in the Philippines. Completing
by the Fletcher Alumni of Color Association (FACA) that has
the mission within a week, he executed a two-year contract
offered stipends to 56 students of color to pursue summer
with the Philippine government to manage the World Bank
internships in fields ranging from foreign policy to business
Agricultural Education Project in Mindanao with a team of
development. As the FACA Internship Support Fund marks
seven experts.
its fifth anniversary, Goonewardene talked about the impetus for the fund and its potential for sustained growth.
Gullion and Tufts President Jean Mayer appointed Goonewardene to coordinate the project and serve as a representative of the school’s Asia/Pacific Teaching Fellows Program. He went on to become president and CEO of the consulting firm International Science and Technology Institute Inc. in Washington, D.C., a position he held for 21 of his 34 years at the firm. Still, Goonewardene maintained strong ties to the Fletcher community, serving as chair of the Fletcher Fund from 2003 to 2006 and joining the board of advisors in 2006. Endowing the FACA Internship Support Fund “will ensure that it is there in perpetuity for generations of students to come,” says Nihal Goonewardene. 11
How did you get involved with the fund?
that I was planning to skip the wedding, and within a week,
Starting in 2008, I participated in career panels for FACA.
the university president and several other staffers had
Around 2011, the association’s executive board approached
pitched in $1,000 towards my trip.
me and said: “We have this great networking organization, but we really need to do something significant to make
I was also a judo instructor and counselor at a camp in
this relevant to the students and to the community.” I
Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and two families of my campers—
suggested they reach out to recent graduates and current
one in California and one in Chicago—each paid half of my
students of color to learn about what they needed most
first-year tuition. The second year Fletcher gave me a very
to succeed.
generous scholarship, and Tufts offered me a position as a residence hall director. And they also gave me plenty of
What did the students identify as barriers to their success?
resources. So this is my way of repaying all that generosity.
They reported difficulty getting internships and actually carrying them out because of lack of funding. Many of
What does this year’s class of recipients look like?
them look for positions around the world, and that’s
We selected 17 students this year. Some of them had really
an added burden, because airfare can eat up your
prestigious placements, such as at the U.N. Foundation’s
whole stipend. Most internships don’t pay, so students
Global Entrepreneurs Council, the Office of the Secretary
and parents are going into debt to pay for these vital
of Defense and the Centre for Environment and Energy
opportunities for professional development.
Development in New Delhi. One student interned at a business consultancy in Thailand, and another conducted
What’s your role in the initiative?
capstone research on peace negotiations between FARC
My job is basically raising money in close coordination with
insurgents and the government of Colombia and interviewed
Fletcher’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
communities involved in the longstanding conflict.
We also work with the Fletcher Office of Career Services committee, which includes some members of the FACA
What has been the significance of this internship initiative?
executive board and past recipients of the internship fund
There are people who really need this, especially those
stipend, to review student applications.
who come directly from overseas, because they might not have access to the right networks here. In order to get
Why is this cause so important to you?
internships, you need connections, the good ones. Even
When I was accepted to Fletcher, I wasn’t offered any
after the Office of Career Services connects them with
financial aid. I had saved about $1,000 to attend my sister’s
opportunities, money is still the determinant. At the same
wedding in Sri Lanka and was considering foregoing
time, these students are enriching workplaces with their
the trip to pay for Fletcher. Two of my professors at my
cultural insights.
undergraduate institution, Oakland University, found out
Our internship scholars have been good for the school as
2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6 FA C A
well as for FACA. Some of them volunteer on our selection
INTERNSHIP FUND CONTRIBUTORS
panel. And some help us find speakers or speak on our career panel. We keep in touch with the recipients, and they become part of our alumni and donor community. It’s been a very gratifying experience.
Anonymous (2)
Marloucha Louina
Neil A. Allen
Teejay K. Lowe
Kumar Ankit
Jeffrey Maccorkle
Michael L. Aresco
Mohammed A. Mahama
Sonja Bachmann
Catherine A. and Peter Malone
The unique nature of the internship fund and its mission to
Charles Baxter and Jinee Tao
Jeffrey and Judith McElnea
develop leadership and credential professionalism among
Thomas W. Baxter
Paul C. McKnight
students of color at Fletcher has resonated with some
Juliana Bedoya Carmona and Aaron Van Alstine
Ken Meyersieck
of my friends, who have no links to Fletcher or Tufts but readily support the program year after year. They account
Benjamin T. Black and Camilla M. Catenza
for a growing swath of our community of donors, which is
Scott E. Bohannon
almost 100 strong.
Kieran Brenner Steffen W. Crowther
What are your aspirations for the group’s future? My goal is to make this fund sustainable, like the Ralph J.
Robert C. Daum Tara Dhawan Khalid Michael J. Dobbs
Bunche Endowed Scholarship [which FACA established
Siddharth S. Durgavanshi
in 2012]. Endowing the internship fund over time will
Charles K. and Putnam M. Ebinger
ensure that it is there in perpetuity for generations of
Carlyle C. Eubank
students to come.
Robert B. Evans Nihal W. Goonewardene
We have also launched a special annual award in honor of my classmate, 60 Minutes producer Harry Radliffe [A71, F73], who passed away this year. It will be another fund similar to the Ralph J. Bunche Scholarship. The
Arjun Gupta Kafia Haile Stevie B. Hamilton Jr. Marie K. and William B. Hoffman Robert Inch
inaugural award will be made in May 2017, but a number
Larry Ivich
of gifts from Harry’s classmates, contemporaries and CBS
Jay James
colleagues have already come into the FACA Internship
Patrick Kabanda
Fund in Harry Radliffe’s memory. Most fortuitously, Harry’s
Kevin F. Kelley
younger brother, Brian Radliffe, is establishing an endowed
Robert D. Kelley
internship award fund in his memory in fall 2016 to perpetuate the annual FACA award starting in 2021.
Magalie Laguerre-Wilkinson Stephane Laroche
Bruce and Susan Miller Benedicte and William T. Monroe Mark K. Nichols Zachary K. Nusbaum Frederick M. Pakis Vijaya R. Palaniswamy Justin L. Pena R. S. Randolph Jonathan R. Reynolds Joseph L. Schatz Mark B. Schellerup The Sasha G.M. Shaikh Foundation Shalini Sharan Brian F. Shepard Marilyn P. Skony Stamm David M. Sloan Kelly M. Smith III Donald R. Stanski Adam J. Treanor Robert L. Webster Henry P. Williams III Peshala Wimalasena Elizabeth G. Wylie Uzair M. Younus Adiba and Mian E. Zaheen
Wiley Loughran 13