July 17, 2019
K-Staters invited to attend Mandela Washington Fellowship graduation ceremony
Submitted by Hannah Sutherland
Celebrate the 2019 class of Mandela Washington fellows at Kansas State University at a graduation ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 27, at the Staley School of Leadership Studies. The ceremony will include a reception and brief graduation program. We hope you will join us for this special event. Please RSVP by Sunday, July 21.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, or YALI. Twenty-five Mandela Washington fellows have joined us this summer to participate in the Leadership in Civic Engagement Institute hosted by the Staley School of Leadership Studies at K-State. Working closely with the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational Affairs and its implementing partner, IREX, the Staley School of Leadership Studies faculty facilitated a six-week program that brought the fellows to Topeka, Kansas City, Omaha and Wichita to learn about leadership in civic engagement across the state and share their experiences with Kansans.
During their stay in Kansas, the Mandela Washington fellows have worked with K-State faculty and staff, elected and governmental officials, private businesses, a peer network and each other to challenge their understandings and practices of leadership. They have volunteered with Harvesters — The Community Food Network, Operation Breakthrough, HandsOn K-State, the Special Olympics and the city of Manhattan. They have visited with state and local elected officials, toured civic and nonprofit organizations such as Ability KC, Nonprofit Connect and the Brown v. Board of Education National Park. The fellows have met with K-State students, faculty and staff, and spent time learning about leadership in Kansas through the Kansas Leadership Center. Now, they are preparing to attend a summit in Washington D.C. where they will meet Mandela Washington fellows who have been learning at other universities across the country. Following the summit, the Mandela Washington fellows will return home to make great impacts in their communities.