<p>What is this? I mean, i read the email and checked the website, but all i found was that I could get 4000/year (which compared to COA is a little low) and show "leadership potential" and need to be involved to keep membership up</p>
<p>is it a big deal? im not trying to be all important, im just wondering b/c it just showed up in my inbox and i dont know anything about it. everything i read is really vague...</p>
<p>any clue?</p>
<p>I am currently a Meinig Family Cornell National Scholar.</p>
<p>It is a great program, one of three Cornell Commitment programs:
Cornell Tradition - community service oriented (~150 students per year I believe)
Hunter R. Rawlings III Research Fellow - research oriented (~50 students I believe)
Meinig Family Cornell National Scholars - leadership oriented (~50)</p>
<p>It is named after Peter Meinig, the current chairperson of the Board of Trustees (a big position). </p>
<p>All of the students in MFCNS are from a broad background, but all show a passion for involvement and leadership. We are supposed to be the cream of the crop of Cornell. You participate in team building exercises, you get a mentor who is a current Cornell administrator (from Deans to Provosts etc), and you get to participate in a project to change something major about Cornell.</p>
<p>It is a great honor, and something that is instantly recognized on a resume within Cornell as a distinguishment. And there is a great network that is set up to let you speak to other MFCNS and Commitment students who maybe share your same interests and can guide you and help you get positions/internships/etc.</p>
<p>Congratulations, because you have been identified as someone who has the ability and the drive to affect the Cornell community positively.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Feel free to ask any other questions.</p>
<p>thanks for the post the email should have said that instead of being so vague, i feel really lucky to have been chosen. thanks again for the info, it clears things up and showed me what an honor it is to have been chosen!</p>
<p>I also got an email about this, sounds like a pretty cool program.</p>
<p>I got one too. Thanks for your post. It helped a lot. I was wondering if you could give us some more specifics about your personal experiences. For example, did you get good internships over the summer because of the program? Thanks again!</p>
<p>Well I definitely put it on my resume, and it’s the first honor (hopefully of many) that I received that was in college, and not some cheesy high school honor.</p>
<p>I don’t know if me being in MFCNS got me the internship, but I definitely think it helped.</p>
<p>Oh one HUGE thing, you get I think 5000 dollars in your four years to fund a project or an internship. You can take it in one sum and do a summer internship (possibly abroad if you’d like) or you can take it in chunks to startup a non-profit company, or to help fund a volunteering campaign etc.</p>
<p>Some of your responsibilities for being in the program include logging hours where you are involved in the community or clubs (more than just getting their emails) and filling out a reflective essay each year on what you have accomplished and what you would still like to accomplish :)</p>
<p>My personal experiences so far have been great. I’ve met a lot of really awesome people who are smart and motivated and share a passion for involvement. And this semester, with our freshmen project, we are tackling Academic and Faculty advising, and the decentralized nature of advising at Cornell. Hopefully, if our proposal to the president and deans in two weeks go well, You guys might be the first to experience a newly restructured advising program. And all because of us freshmen MFCNS.</p>
<p>Chendrix-</p>
<p>What do you mean 5000 to fund an internship? What would you need to fund with an internship? I also was named a meinig scholar and I was hoping you could elaborate a little more on the perks and details of this program. I am also very confused as to what this program is about. Also, is there a monetary amount given to Meinig Scholars from Cornell? Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, there is a general monetary amount given to Meinig Scholars. </p>
<p>You receive a maximum of 4000 dollars per year in Loan/Work study replacing grants. So you can focus more on being a leader in the community and not having to work study or take on loans.</p>
<p>The 5000 dollars is for all four years. It can be used in small increments or can be used in one shot. What I mean by fund an internship is just that. If you wish to work for a non-profit organization, or a local charity, or somewhere abroad, or anywhere that doesn’t have enough money to pay you, or to provide housing or a meal stipend, you can use that money to pay for yourself. That way the internship provider doesn’t have to worry about not being able to take you on because of a lack of funding.</p>
<p>This program is about being a leader, and training the next generation of effective leaders. Everyone in the program is from diverse geographic and cultural backgrounds and provides interesting perspectives on what it means to be involved and committed to a greater cause. Through the program you will meet peers who are just as involved and intelligent as you, and you will be put under the wing of a real Cornell bigwig, someone who is high up and exerts influence over this campus and its inner workings. You will also be given the opportunity during Freshmen Forum (the program during freshmen year) to change something that people wish to see addressed about Cornell. This year we were asked by a group to investigate the problems with academic and faculty advising. Now, we have the opportunity to change advising and make it more beneficial, more cost-effective, and more centralized.</p>