Two St. Olaf students selected as Phillips Scholars
Two St. Olaf College students have been named 2025–26 Phillips Scholars, earning funding and support to carry out innovative summer projects that address community needs in Minnesota. Madi Dinneen ’27 and Pearl Swanson ’28 were among just 10 students selected statewide for the competitive program, which is sponsored by the Minnesota Private College Fund.
Each Phillips Scholar designs and implements a summer project centered on social impact, supported by $9,000 in funding and professional development opportunities. For Dinneen and Swanson, the scholarship offers a platform to give back to the communities that shaped them.
“I knew that I wanted to make a change in my community — something to do with mental health, because that’s the most important issue to me,” Dinneen says. “I think mental health is really overlooked in terms of public health and safety, so that is something I am looking to address.”
Dinneen is a political science major with concentrations in international relations and public health from Farmington, Minnesota. Her project, a mental health day camp for middle schoolers in her hometown, will focus on coping strategies, community building, and reducing stigma. Camp participants will assemble “coping boxes” with sensory tools, affirmations, and resource lists to be distributed to classrooms across the district.
“I decided to focus on middle schoolers because it’s the most underserved demographic,” Dinneen says. “There are some base-level supports for elementary schoolers, and then a lot more once you get to the high school, but I find middle school to be kind of a gap in the system. I noticed that when I was in middle school, and not much has changed in the seven years since.”

Swanson, a studio art and political science major with a concentration in race and ethnic studies, is planning a northern Minnesota canoe trip for Twin Cities youth who have not had access to outdoor recreation experiences due to cost or opportunity. Inspired by her own upbringing in Duluth, she hopes the trip will introduce high school students to the confidence-boosting challenges and joys of camping.
“Growing up around nature, I was able to camp, and it played a really large role in my childhood,” Swanson says. “I knew I wanted to help more kids get outdoors. I think that’s always been my passion, especially with people that haven’t had the privilege of being outdoors and learning about our state.”
Swanson plans to co-lead the trip and hopes to involve other St. Olaf students who are passionate about youth development or the environment. She’s currently working at a summer camp to build up her own outdoor leadership skills and refine the program logistics over the next year.
Both students say their projects align with their personal values and long-term goals.
“Ultimately, I want to work in a public-facing or public servant–type career, ideally in mental health,” Dinneen says. “Whatever I do, I want to do it from this place of being oriented towards the community. This project gives me experience both in implementing my own community engagement programs and also in a topic area that I love.”
Swanson echoed a similar drive.
“I definitely want to work with children or teenagers in some way,” she says. “Teaching, leading, and working with kids has always been something I’m passionate about.”

Assistant Director of Career Development and Coaching, Social Impact, Equity and Access at the Piper Center for Vocation and Career Zoe Davis says the Phillips Scholars Program is a natural fit with St. Olaf’s mission.
“The program enables students to gain invaluable leadership experience, which they can bring back to campus and the Northfield community through participation and leadership in student organizations, campus employment, and off-campus community involvement,” Davis says. “Part of St. Olaf College’s Mission Statement prompts students to ‘explore meaningful vocation in an inclusive, globally engaged community.’ The Phillips Scholars Program offers students the opportunity to live out the college’s mission by serving a specific community, exploring their interests, and growing as leaders beyond the walls of St. Olaf College.”
She adds that successful candidates often propose projects connected to communities they’re personally invested in.
“Students are so creative. There’s not necessarily one formula that makes for a good candidate, but strong Phillips Scholars candidates typically propose projects that serve communities in which they are a part of, or have been a part of in the past,” Davis says. “For example, students have proposed projects that build capacity within their current volunteer communities, address a programmatic gap for a particular age group, or connect a specific population to resources and information.”
Both Dinneen and Swanson encouraged other Oles to consider applying for the upcoming 2026–27 cohort.
“It never hurts to apply,” Swanson says. “If you have an idea, I would just say go for it. I applied with a really vague idea — I just wanted to go on a camping trip. I expanded it after the second application, and I’m definitely going to grow my idea at our orientation in June. It’s a really fluid process.”
“Your project could be so much more impactful or so much more necessary than you think — don’t count yourself out,” Dinneen adds. “The St. Olaf community is so supportive, and I think there really are people waiting to help you at every corner — you just have to be willing to ask for it.”