#7) Applying for the Bonderman Fellowship

I’ve already been getting some of emails and Facebook messages recently from people who are interested in applying for the Bonderman Fellowship for next year. So following the lead of my fellow Fellow Louis Mirante I’ve decided to craft a blog post with advice for potential applicants – this is mostly so that I don’t have to repeat myself, but also so that I give equal opportunity for those interested in applying who don’t personally know me enough to feel comfortable reaching out for advice. This advice is entirely from my own perspective and experiences in relation to the application process which I think is unique for each individual, but I’ll try to generalize it as much as possible.

First and foremost, be prepared to spend some serious time on your application. And by that I don’t mean sitting down, writing and rewriting multiple drafts of your essays and then bringing them to Sweetland to have them edited. Although these are definitely good strategies, it’s only the surface level of the application process. I’m really talking about the time spent with yourself to just think some things out and process before you even sit down to write one word. For me personally, I never would have imagined that someone would come to me and open (almost) the entire world to me with an offer of $20,000 with only a few, minor strings attached. When I first heard about the program my mind was swirling with so many ideas and I lost more than a few hours of sleep just lying there and imagining all of the wonderful things I could do, see, and learn around the world. After a lot of time of just dreaming of all the possibilities I realized that I needed to really focus my thoughts if I was to create a successful application – after all the application essays have pretty strict word limits and the wonders of the human imagination just don’t fit neatly into 500 or 1500 words. So spend some serious time with yourself now (you’ll be doing it for 8 months anyway if you’re awarded a Fellowship) and really focus on all the relevant questions to your application. Questions like – where do I really want to travel and why? Do I want my travels to have a specific focus or will each destination offer something different for me? How can I challenge myself to grow mentally, emotionally and physically through travel? How will my social identities impact how and where I travel? (This one is especially important - race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, dis/ability, citizenship, mother-tongue/native language, etc. all effect the way that the world perceives you and if you have an identity that is not as common/unknown in some places it can have an impact on your experiences such that they vary (sometimes significantly) from other travelers that don’t share that identity)

Secondly, make sure your passion and authenticity shine through in your application. This ties right back in again to spending time reflecting on your own aspirations and the unique reasons that you want to travel. Each applicant is entirely unique and will approach this open-ended opportunity in very different ways - what works for one applicant will not necessarily work for another. The four of us who are traveling on the Fellowship now each hold unique social identities and have our own reasons for wanting to travel to the places that we chose. There are no wrong answers here - you have to make your application authentically your own even if it means being a little vulnerable in the essays. No one can tell your story for you better than you can yourself. The people who will be reading your essays aren’t going to know what you don’t tell them so don’t hold anything back if you think it’s important and relevant to your application. Bring your most authentic self to the table and then to the world.

Lastly, challenge yourself – and I mean really challenge yourself. You’re guaranteed to have some physically uncomfortable moments traveling alone anywhere – getting lost, sitting on a bus crowded with people and sometimes chickens, sweating constantly, having only cold water to shower with, etc. The Fellowship is definitely about challenging yourself in these ways – but it’s mostly about pushing even further beyond that in areas that you want/need to grow in cultural and global understanding. Although it seems like a terrifying proposition you shouldn’t be afraid to choose a country to travel to that you know absolutely nothing about from the onset and you might be really surprised by what you find. I guess this also comes back to some critical thinking – but reflect on what it is you feel like you want to gain out of travel and then construct an itinerary in a way that will really challenge you to grow in those ways and more.

I’m hoping that this advice will help you in crafting your application, but I can’t make any sort of promise that I hold the key to a perfect application. The process of applying is a highly individual process and you will know much better than I how to make your application strong and uniquely your own. I won’t be able to tell you if saying this or that will help or hurt your individual application but if you have more specific questions or need clarification on some aspect of the application process I would be more than happy to answer questions via email at tmesman@umich.edu. I’ll try to get back to you as quickly as possible, but I don’t always have internet access and as you can imagine I am quite busy while on the road. If you're just generally interested in backpacking travel regardless then I would also be willing to talk to you about my experiences and maybe some different ways you can start to plan out a trip of your own. I'm by no means an expert, but it's always good to talk out your plans with someone. That being said – good luck to all those applying for a Bonderman Fellowship this year! Adventure is out there! 

Photo credit: Bob Silalahi