Nine Fresno State students were among the 190 students selected nationwide for the American Humanics Next Generation Leaders Program. NextGen, as it is known, is a competitive internship scholarship program for students enrolled in American Humanics Programs on more than 64 colleges and universities in the United States during the 2008-09 academic year.

NextGen, funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, is designed to help a diverse group of students with demonstrated leadership potential complete their requirements for certification in nonprofit management and leadership and encourage the recruitment and retention of skilled and diverse next generation nonprofit leaders.

The students selected are:

  • Quincy Ariz of Fresno, a senior graduating in May with a major in Health Science (Community Health Option), who has been interning with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte.
  • April Bejarano of Merced, a graduating senior with a major in Sociology and Chicano & Latin American Studies, will be conducting an internship with the American Humanics Nonprofit Administration Program at Fresno State, coordinating the planning for the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Program on Aug. 21 and assisting with the development of the Sustainability Partnership Project.
  • Maria De La Cruz of Riverdale, a graduating senior with a major in Sociology, has interned with Boys2Men Girls2Women Foundation and United Way of Fresno County and will likely be conducting an internship with Reading and Beyond
  • Melissa Freeman of Fresno, a junior majoring in Business Administration and Linguistics and Craig School of Business Honors Student, has been interning with Fresno Nonprofit Advancement Council, assisting with a capacity-building program for nine local nonprofit organizations funded by First5 of Fresno County.
  • Janet Jones of San Jose, a post-baccalaureate student with an M.S. degree in Counseling, has been interning with HandsOn Central California.
  • Elizabeth Kuykendall of Oakhurst, a senior majoring in Nonprofit Administration, is interning with Community Food Bank, assisting with the implementation of the 2009 Hunger Study and volunteer coordination
  • Walter Ramirez Delgado of Fresno, a senior majoring in Political Science, has interned with Latino Environmental Advancement Policy Institute and Latino Issues Forum and will be selecting his 2009 internship site.
  • Maggie Simms of Madera, a senior majoring in Sociology, has been interning with Animal Rescue of Fresno.
  • Kau Vue of Fresno, a post-baccalaureate student with a B.A. in Political Science, is interning with Reading and Beyond, assisting with grant research and writing and the development of an advocacy program.

The internships require a minimum commitment of 300 hours and students receive a scholarship of $4,500, along with access to and support from a network of nonprofit leaders who serve as career coaches.

Dr. Matthew A. Jendian, director of the American Humanics Nonprofit Administration Program at Fresno State, said, “I am privileged to work with some of the best and brightest students on our campus through the American Humanics Program. Over the first six rounds of reviews from 2007-09, 19 Fresno State AH students have been among the 469 NextGen Leaders, securing $85,500 in scholarships.”