Introducing the Bowdoin Public Service Initiative

The Bowdoin Public Service Initiative, a new program launched last year, offers students from all academic backgrounds opportunities to engage in public service and the government. Made up of three parts—a seminar series and immersion trip for sophomores, a funded fellowship program for juniors, and an on-campus program for the broader Bowdoin community—the Initiative aims to inspire students to consider pursuing what can be fascinating and purposeful work in service to the country.

To get a sense of how the Initiative works, we followed the inaugural group of ten sophomores and their two senior leaders last March when they hit the streets of DC. In just a few days, they met with nearly forty speakers of all ages, backgrounds, and political perspectives. These alumni and others, who work in all three branches of government, shared their knowledge, advice, and stories of their own pathways to help inspire students to envision what their own story might be.