Fellows Program Gives University of Richmond Graduates Experience in State Government
July 19, 2002
Erin Torrey could have worked all summer in her father's Ocean City, Md., restaurant, collecting tips to help pay for law school in the fall.
Instead the 2002 University of Richmond graduate is back on campus and, along with 15 other recent grads or graduate school students, is attending brown bag lunches with the heads of Virginia's state agencies, lunching with the first lady and attending a ball game with the governor.
They also have canoed the James River, toured the state forensic lab and seen the inside workings of the state police academy and a state correctional facility.
Torrey, a Salisbury, Md., native participated in those and other activities as a 2002 Governor's Fellow.
"The program offers a select group of outstanding and highly motivated individuals the opportunity to experience firsthand the administration of state government in the commonwealth," said Cheri Walker, Governor's Fellows coordinator.
The program was established in 1982, and admission has become highly competitive. Qualified applicants must be graduating college seniors or students enrolled as degree candidates in a graduate or professional school. They must also be enrolled in a Virginia college or university or be a Virginia resident if enrolled out-of-state.
In addition to group activities, each fellow is assigned to work at a state agency. A criminal justice major who will attend the University of Richmond Law School, Torrey was thrilled to be assigned to the Virginia State Police. During the two-month program, she is working on a citizens' feedback survey that will be distributed to victims of non-violent crimes and motor vehicle accidents.
Another fellow and 2002 Richmond graduate, Jessica Galehouse of Cedar Falls, Iowa, is assigned to the Department of Planning and Budget, where she is working on a criminal fund project and developing "fun facts" for the education division. "Being selected is a big honor to me because the selection process was quite competitive and involved a number of high-ranking governmental figures, including Gov. Warner," she said.
Rich Fromberg, also a 2002 Richmond graduate, hopes to use the fellows experience to help him decide about a career in government or politics. Having experienced the governmental process through two internships - with the late state Sen. Emily Couric and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation - he is now assigned to the State Board of Elections. "I have designed a usable, searchable index that will connect all of Virginia's current election statutes with interpretations from attorney generals' opinions and other correspondence that go back more than 75 years," explained the Bridgewater, N. J. native.
Only Richmond and the University of Virginia have as many as three fellows in the 2002 program.