As a recipient of a DeJoy-Woś Family Foundation Scholarship, Elizabeth Smith spent her summer in Washington, D.C., taking classes and interning at the American Legion, as part of the Fund for American Studies.
She was one of nine scholarship recipients, hailing from colleges and universities in North Carolina and Estonia that received full tuition and housing to attend the program. Smith, a first-generation college student, took an economics class and a public policy class at George Mason University.
“The scholarship was a stepping stone to my future,” said Smith, a sociology major. “My professors were very skilled and knowledgeable in their fields with lived experience.”
As part of her internship at the American Legion, Smith worked on bill reviews, fact sheets, after action reports, veteran outreach and incarcerated veterans outreach. She also helped her supervisor inform policy work and attended many congressional and senate hearings.
Smith said her UNC Charlotte experience prepared her to succeed as a DeJoy-Woś Family Foundation Scholar.
“UNC Charlotte educated me on the process of integral research. You have to know the facts without opinion, and my research practice at the University prepared me to do that,” she said.
About the Fund for American Studies
The Fund for American Studies is a nonprofit, educational organization that hosts academic internship programs for undergraduate and law students in Washington, D.C., and international academic programs in Europe, Asia and South America.
About Louis DeJoy and Dr. Aldona Woś
DeJoy currently serves as the 75th U.S. Postmaster General, a role he was appointed to in May 2020 by the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service. Formerly, he was the chairman and chief executive officer of New Breed Logistics. Dr. Woś served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Estonia from 2004 to 2006 and as head of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from 2013 to 2015. Woś also served as vice chair of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, one of the nation’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. She is currently the interim president of the Institute of World Politics.