Meredith Jones ’19 and Jasmine Murray ’19 have been awarded the FAO Schwarz Fellowship, a highly selective two-year Fellowship in Social Impact. The Fellowship includes a paid position with a leading nonprofit, personalized mentoring, and extensive professional development experiences.
Major: Literature
Hometown: Norwell, Mass.
High School: Norwell Public Schools
Jones will be a fellow at Jumpstart in New York City. It provides language, literacy, and social-emotional programming for preschool children from under-resourced communities and promotes quality early learning for all. She will be working in two areas: researching education policy in NYC and performing direct service by organizing community events and workshops.
“The FAO Fellowship at Jumpstart sounded perfect for me because I have worked as a literacy tutor for four years now, which has made me interested in learning how to make literacy and education more accessible for all students,” Jones said.
Murray will go to Playworks in Boston, a leading nonprofit leveraging play as a tool to promote healthy behaviors, increase social/emotional learning, and improve school climate.
She will be doing a combination of direct service and project work.
Major: Literature
Hometown: Bronx, N.Y.
High School: Strath Haven High School
“On one end, I will contribute to the Playworks organization closely with the program in various schools, and on the other, I will assist with brand awareness. I am interested in non-profit work as I have been assisted by similar programs throughout my life,” said Murray.
The FAO Schwarz Fellowship is committed to investing in the professional development of fellows through a structured program of retreats, professional training, and mentoring. This year six fellows were selected from a pool of exceptional candidates. They are paired with organizations that are deeply valued in their communities and have a strong record of delivering consistent results and high-quality services. Fellows deepen their knowledge and understanding of relevant social issues, work directly with host communities, and lead strategic projects that strengthen the host organization’s capacity and impact.
Jones, who majored in literature and minored in Hispanic Studies, studied in Hamilton’s Academic Year in Spain in 2018. She was a Writing Center tutor, and a Community Outreach and Opportunity Program (COOP) service intern at the Kirkland Town Library. After her fellowship, she said she hopes to work in education policy or research in some form. “I'm looking forward to see what new opportunities and interests arise from this experience,” Jones said.
Murray, also a literature major, was an Opportunity Program scholar at Hamilton. She studied at the University of London in 2016-17. At Hamilton, she was founder and editor-in-chief of Grasping Roots, a news platform about historical and contemporary influential black leaders and communities, and she served as communication chair for the Voices of Color Lecture Series.
After her fellowship, she plans to attend graduate school and obtain a Ph.D. in African and African American studies.
