Each year, the McKenna School provides opportunities to students, faculty, and staff to travel abroad. One such opportunity is our “McKenna Around the World” trip. A group of 10-30 students travel with faculty over spring break to experience businesses, culture, and education in other countries. Some destinations of our past trips have included: Germany, Ireland, Chile, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, Peru, South Africa, China, Portugal, Turkey, and Austria among others.
While Saint Vincent is home to dozens of clubs and groups, the clubs and organizations of special interest to the McKenna School students because they provide even more networking opportunities include:
The Western Intellectual Tradition
The Aurelius Scholars program is offered to motivated students interested in the Western intellectual tradition and rooted in a diverse course sequence meant to satisfy part of Saint Vincent’s core curriculum. As part of their liberal education, students engage some of the great texts, ideas and perennial questions of the Western world.
Extracurricular Opportunities
In addition to the course sequence, Aurelius Scholars participate in enriching extracurricular opportunities, such as reading groups, campus lectures and student trips. Many events encourage Aurelius Scholars to engage in thoughtful conversation with students in other Saint Vincent Honors Community programs.
Competitive Scholarships
A limited number of competitive scholarships are offered for incoming freshmen each year. Select recipients will receive an annual $2,000 scholarship applied toward tuition as part of their financial aid package, over the course of four years. Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of superior academic credentials and their interest in the program. Non-scholarship recipients are also invited and encouraged to participate in this program.
Program Requirements
Students will be expected to enroll in Principles of American Politics in their first year of the program, demonstrate satisfactory progress in completing the Aurelius course sequence, attend occasional lectures sponsored by Saint Vincent’s Center for Political and Economic Thought and periodically meet with the Aurelius program director to discuss their progress.
Honors Community
Aurelius Scholars are also part of the Saint Vincent Honors Community, an engaging and intellectual community of high-achieving students whose desire is to put their skills to use in the real world. Students interested in becoming an Aurelius Scholar should apply for their program through our Honors Community application.
Click HERE to open the Honors Community application. Be sure to indicate that you are applying for the Aurelius Scholars in Western Civilization Program, and complete the required sections of the application.
Contact
For more information, contact the Director of Aurelius Scholars:
Jason Jividen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Political ScienceThe Alex G. McKenna Economics Scholarship is awarded to incoming students (freshmen or transfers) who declare a major or minor in Economics. Recipients are selected by the Economics Department based on superior academic credentials and potential, including high school (or previous college) academic performance and/or ACT/SAT scores. Selected recipients receive a $2,500 per year scholarship ($10,000 over four years). The scholarship is renewable for four years, assuming continued enrollment and satisfactory academic progress toward a major (or minor) degree in Economics.
Requirements
Applications are now closed for Fall 2023.
For Fall 2024, two internships with the Saint Vincent College Small Business Development Center (SBDC). will be awarded to incoming freshmen based on the results of a competitive essay competition.
The four-year SBDC internship program will allow for an up to $1,100 annual work award (five hours per week) for the students in their sophomore through senior years. The internship is non-paid for the first year. Upon selection, the student’s Saint Vincent College Merit Scholarship will be replaced by the SBDC Entrepreneurship Scholarship.
Requirements
Recipients must be full-time students beginning a course of study in a program within the Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government in fall 2024.
Application deadline is April 15, 2024. Selection and notification to all applicants will be completed by May 1, 2024.
For more information on the Entrepreneurial Internship Award, contact James Kunkel, Executive Director of the Saint Vincent College Small Business Development Center, at james.kunkel@stvincent.edu or (724) 537-4572.
The Center for Political and Economic Thought sponsors this fellowship program founded in the 1998-1999 academic year. The program provides a stipend, support for attending academic conferences, and books for each fellow. Fellows must engage in a year-long scholarly project with a faculty member from the Center, which is designed to be a broad learning experience for the fellow in a non-classroom atmosphere.
Background Information
The George Washington Fellowship Program is named after our nation's first president in order to focus on the theme of citizenship. Washington emphasized in his writings and addresses that the success of the new American republic would depend upon the nation's ability to become a sacred union of citizens. The Program seeks to attract students interested in scholarly inquiry into the key questions of American citizenship, paying careful attention to the duties and responsibilities of individuals in a free, well ordered society.
Applications for projects in the following areas will be accepted: American political thought, American economic thought, political or economic thought generally, American culture and religion, and American constitutionalism.
Eligibility Requirements
Successful fellowship applicants will have outstanding records of academic achievement and a demonstrated interest in scholarly inquiry. Students majoring in Political Science or Public Policy are eligible to participate during their sophomore, junior, or senior year. Particular emphasis will be placed on those applying for fellowships for the junior or senior year, but truly superior sophomore applications will also merit consideration.
Fellowship proposals must focus on a key question or issue suggested by one of the themes mentioned in the section on Background.
Fellowship Tasks
Fellowships are not designed to be an independent study, nor are they intended to require the same type of work that would be involved in taking a regular college course. Rather, fellowships will support a scholarly relationship or conversation between the student and faculty member on the issue or question posed in the application. Once a proposal has been awarded a fellowship, a faculty member will be assigned and the student and faculty member will determine a set of readings appropriate to fostering an in-depth discussion of the question at hand.
Fellows are expected to read and think seriously about the selected works, to meet regularly with the faculty member to discuss the works, and to produce a piece of work at the end of the fellowship period that reflects what has been learned in the reading and discussions. This final product is not intended to be a thesis-type major research project, but instead a thoughtful and tangible reflection on the learning experience.
Fellowship Provisions
Stipend - Fellows will receive a stipend totaling $1,000. The stipend will be paid in installments of $500 at the beginning of each semester. Payment of the stipend in the Spring semester is contingent upon satisfactory progress during the Fall semester. Normally, the stipend should not affect a student's financial aid package, but students are encouraged to verify this with the Office of Admission and Financial Aid.
Books - A modest budget will be available to purchase the books that a fellow will need to read for his or her project. The assigned faculty member will determine which books are necessary and the books will be purchased directly by the Center.
Academic Conference Support - It is often the case that there will be a scholarly conference going on that will bear directly on a fellow's academic interest. Beyond this, it is worthwhile for students to have the experience of attending an academic conference. Accordingly, the Fellows Program will provide a modest amount of financial support for participants to attend scholarly conferences that both the student and faculty member agree are of particular merit.
Year-End Dinner and Other Events - The Center will sponsor a culminating social event for its George Washington Fellows, where each fellow will share his or her thoughts on what has been learned from the fellowship experience. The Center may also sponsor occasional "get togethers" for those participating in the George Washington Fellowship Program.
Academic Credit - Completion of the Fellowship Program will be noted on the student's academic transcript as a zero-credit entry.
How to Apply
Contact Jason Jividen for more information on how to apply.
