Career-enhancing Experiences (short-term)

  • Johnson Family Opportunity Fund
  • Career-enhancing Experiences (short-term)

The Johnson Family Opportunity Fund was established through the generous support of the Johnson family and is intended to provide greater access to resources, experiences, and opportunities to help students navigate the path from college to career, and to decrease the barriers caused by a lack of financial support.

Johnson Family Opportunity Fund Deadlines (2023-2024 Academic Year)
FALL 2023 APPLICATION DEADLINES
  • October 18, 2023
  • December 14, 2023
SPRING 2024 APPLICATION DEADLINES
  • February 15, 2024
  • April 4, 2024
  • May 15, 2024

No Late Applications Will be Considered for JFOF Funding for Graduate/Professional School-Related Expenses and Short-term Career Enhancing Experiences. If you have an eligible and urgent expense and there is not a deadline coming up soon please reach out to Marietta Ruppe (ruppe2@stolaf.edu) and Nate Jacobi (jacobi@stolaf.edu) to discuss the situation.

Funding decisions will be determined and shared with applicants within 2 weeks of the application due date.

Student Eligibility to apply for the Johnson Family Opportunity Fund
  • Financial Need Eligibility – Low-income students meeting specific criteria are eligible to apply. If you do not meet eligibility guidelines, your application will not be considered for funding. Domestic students with an Expected Family Contribution of $10,000 or less and “high need” international students are eligible to apply. If you are uncertain about your eligibility or believe you may have extenuating circumstances that may affect your eligibility, please reach out to Financial Aid at finaid@stolaf.edu or visit the Financial Aid office in Tomson 120.
  • Class Year – Students must be a sophomore, junior, or senior during the grant period. Experiences occurring during sophomore year will be considered; experiences occurring after graduation will not be funded.
  • Funding Limit/Maximum – Eligible students may apply for funding for multiple opportunities. Students may receive a maximum of $5,000 in funding (total) during their time at St. Olaf, including both Graduate/Professional School-related funding and funding for Internships & Career-enhancing Experiences. Please note that there is no guarantee of funding to any applicant, and the expenses included above may or may not be funded when included in a Johnson Family Opportunity Fund application.
  • First generation college students are particularly encouraged to apply and will be prioritized when determining funding levels.
Eligible Opportunities
  • Spring or Fall Semester Internships or similar off-campus opportunities (unpaid/underpaid) — apply through the process outlined below.
    • Students who complete an unpaid internship during the fall or spring semester that requires at least 55 hours are eligible to apply for funding
    • Students are eligible to apply for funding to cover transportation costs (but not expenses related to food and housing)
    • Minimum award will be $200-500, depending on the number of hours worked
    • Students completing virtual internships are eligible to apply
  • Conference or workshop participation in a field related to your career interests may be an eligible expense.
  • Interview Expenses – expenses related to job or internship interviews.
  • Mileage related to student teaching, nursing practicum experiences, social work practicum, and similar experiences. Check first with the academic department. Students are only eligible to apply for funding that is not covered by the department.
  • Expenses related to licensure and the exam fees required for licensure (in a variety of disciplines) may be considered eligible for funding. All exams and expenses must take place prior to graduation.
  • Self-designed shadowing, networking, or other experiences related to career-exploration – Unique requests are often considered eligible for funding, but restrictions do apply. Discuss your plans with Marietta Ruppe (ruppe2@stolaf.edu) or Nate Jacobi (jacobi@stolaf.edu) before applying in order to determine the eligibility of your opportunity.
  • To apply for $200 toward professional attire through the Johnson Family Opportunity Fund, please complete the JFOF Professional Attire Funding Application.
  • Experiences must take place before graduation
  • Students seeking support for licensure or other unique requests should reach out to Marietta Ruppe (ruppe2@stolaf.edu) and Nate Jacobi (jacobi@stolaf.edu) before applying in order to determine the eligibility of your opportunity to determine eligibility.

Students are not eligible to receive funding for the following experiences:

Students are generally not allowed to receive funds to support internships, research experiences, or other travel to countries with State Department travel warnings (Level 3 or Level 4), unless the experience will take place in the student’s home country.

Please note that funding is awarded competitively, based on the strength of the application. There is no guarantee of funding to any applicant, and the expenses included in the budget form may or may not be funded when included in a Johnson Family Opportunity Fund application.

Selection Process

The Johnson Family Opportunity Fund is competitively awarded to students who meet all eligibility guidelines. A Selection Committee funds applicants based on the strength of the application and the quality of the experience. Applications are reviewed based on the selection criteria included in the Career-enhancing Experiences Rubric. Submitting an application does not guarantee funding, and students who are selected often receive partial funding to support their proposed opportunity.

Applicants must review all of the information provided below in detail and must follow all steps in the application process in order to submit a strong application for funding.

Application Process and Required Documents
When you apply for funding, you will be asked electronically to upload files that are required for your application, including documentation of your opportunity, documentation related to expenses (receipts), your resume, and the Internship & Career-enhancing Experiences Budget Form. Each of these documents must be saved electronically in PDF format, and each document must be uploaded directly when you submit your application for funding.

BEFORE YOU APPLY – Prepare your application materials

STEP 1 – Secure a qualified opportunity (career exploration experience, job interview, etc.). Utilize the Piper Center for assistance.

STEP 2 – Document your opportunity. Save all documents electronically by scanning or by saving as a PDF.

For students completing other experiences (career exploration, job interview, etc.) 

  • Secure documentation (letter or email saved as a PDF) that states that you have been selected for the experience.

STEP 3 – Document your expenses. Save all documents electronically by scanning or by saving as a PDF.

  • Document expenses related to your opportunity, including receipts or estimated costs for transportation, housing, professional attire (maximum of $200), and other expenses included in your request for funding.
  • Expenses related to Air Travel – If your budget includes expenses for air travel, you must include documentation. Please upload a receipt (if the ticket has been purchased already) or an estimated expense for your flight, based on the best price available at the time you are submitting your application. This documentation must be saved as a PDF and uploaded with your application.

STEP 4 – Complete the Short-term Career Enhancing Experiences Budget Worksheet and save it electronically by scanning it or saving as a PDF.
Students must complete the Budget Worksheet before completing the Online Application.

STEP 5 – Prepare your Resume and save it electronically as a PDF.
If you need assistance starting or updating a resume, please stop by the Piper Center to meet with a Peer Advisor and use the Piper Center Resume Resources.

COMPLETE & SUBMIT YOUR ONLINE APPLICATION

Complete the Online Application by 11:59 pm on the application deadline. THE APPLICATION IS CLOSED AT THIS TIME.

As part of the online application, you will submit the following documents electronically (see details above):

The Career-enhancing Experiences Worksheet will allow you to preview the questions that will be asked on the form.

After You Apply

Await Notification from the Piper Center
Within two weeks of the application deadline, all applicants will be notified via email whether or not they have been awarded funding.

For Award Recipients – Final Steps

Submit Payment Documents (only those that are selected for an award)
Students who are awarded funding will receive several documents that need to be signed and returned to the Piper Center in order to receive payment.

Application Assistance

Students are encouraged to reach out to Marietta Ruppe  or Nate Jacobi with questions they have about the Johnson Family Opportunity Fund including Budget Reviews.

JFOF Drop-in Hours in the Piper Center 

Tuesdays from 10-11 am with Marietta by appointment through Handshake

Wednesdays from 2:30 – 4:30 pm with Marietta in the Piper Center

Thursdays from 3-5 pm with Nate’s in the Piper Center

How can I schedule an in-person or virtual meeting to discuss the Johnson Family Opportunity Fund?

  1. Log onto Handshake with your St. Olaf credentials.
  2. Click on “Career Center” on the top right side of the screen.
  3. Click on “Appointments”.
  4. Click on the blue button that reads “Schedule a New Appointment”.
  5. Under “Choose a Category”, select “Johnson Family Opportunity Fund Questions (15 minutes)”.
  6. Choose “Johnson Family Opportunity Fund” as the appointment type.
  7. Find an available appointment time that will be convenient for you. Click on that appointment time and follow the prompts to “Request” the appointment.
  8. A coach will follow up with you with additional information about meeting via video or phone.
Find an Internship, Research or other Career Enhancing Opportunity
In order to apply for funding, you must have already secured an opportunity. Here’s how to get started: