Carolina Covenant Professional Development Grants

Students may apply for funding to support:

• Unpaid Research Assistantships
• Unpaid Internships
• Unpaid Travel costs (hotel/transportation) associated with interviews, internships, conference attendance (and registration) – conferences must be attended with a mentor to guide you, or you must be invited to present at the conference
• Unpaid career-advancing, mentored service in a career field of interest
• Certifications (such as Certified Nursing Assistant)
• Test Prep courses for required standardized tests
• Professional Attire (Note: If this is your only need, consider applying for Styled for Success funds instead!
• Supplementation of paid internships and research assistantships: For Scholars who have secured a funded professional development experience, but the wages are insufficient to cover basic needs, travel or housing costs. Scholars in this situation will be asked to work with the Assistant Director for Career Development and Outcomes on strategies to negotiate salary. If the employer is unable to offer more, Scholars can provide documentation from the employer noting the limited capacity to cover these costs with their application for Covenant supplemental professional development funds. See the templates provided below for guidance on negotiating compensation and incidental costs with employers.

• Furniture costs
• Moving costs
• Independent international travel not hosted by a UNC-sponsored program or department
• For-credit course enrollment toward a UNC degree. Carolina Covenant Scholars can graduate debt-free without attending summer school.
  • Note: Many Scholars want to study abroad or take courses over the summer months. While coursework can contribute directly to career development, Covenant Scholars can engage in courses and graduate debt-free even without attending summer school via fall and spring enrollment. Many Covenant Scholars also study abroad through exchange rate programs in fall and spring where costs are covered by the Carolina Covenant financial aid package.
• With these benefits in mind and due to limited funds, we are currently unable to award Covenant-specific grants to cover the additional costs of enrollment for summer or study abroad programs beyond the exchange rate in fall or spring. Our program is happy to coach and support you in seeking other sources of funding or less expensive alternatives to help you achieve your academic and experiential goals.

The maximum grant award is $4000. In most cases for full-time internships/research positions (30-40 hours/week), the following breakdown will apply:

• Full summer internship (8-10 weeks): $4000
• Half summer internship (5-7 weeks): $2000
• Micro-internship (1-4 weeks): up to $1000
• Conference registration and travel: up to $2000
• Travel to interviews: up to $500 reimbursement

Awards will be scaled to fit each student’s individual needs and based upon hours per week. Meaning, if a position requires fewer than 30-40 hours/week, the award may be scaled down accordingly.

The online application will include:

• Information about you
• A description of the experience for which you are seeking funding
• A brief summary of your current career goals and how this experience will impact your trajectory towards these
• A reflection on the NACE Career Readiness Competencies
• Contact information for your Covenant Mentor and your supervisor for your summer experience
• A budget estimation. Use this form (attached as a separate document) to work out your budget before beginning your application.

By submitting an application, you are committing to participating in assessment efforts by completing surveys and participating in brief check-ins over the summer. You are also granting permission for Covenant to share your information and media and narratives you submit for assessment, storytelling, and communications purposes.

• Independent search: Explore Handshake and LinkedIn for opportunities in your field. Look at the jobs pages of companies at which you want to work. Talk about potential opportunities with your mentors, instructors, and peers.
• Review the Opportunity Bank to find high-impact opportunities created and curated specifically for Career Accelerator students.
• Think about a place you would like to intern, serve as a research assistant, or a career development experience you would like to have where such opportunities don’t currently exist. Write to the leaders of the experience to pitch an idea.
• Make an appointment with Jessie Durham-Nash, Assistant Director for Career Development and Outcomes, for support.

Funds will be distributed in lump sum in the amount awarded directly to your student account. Most funds will be distributed on or around the first week of Summer Session I. It is your responsibility to manage and apply these funds for the designated experience to ensure you have adequate support throughout the experience and summer.

It is recommended that recipients of this grant are not enrolled in summer courses. This will allow more of your funds to be directly available to support you and allow you the time, energy, and focus needed to fully immerse yourself in your summer experience.

If you are not enrolled in courses for the summer, the full amount of the award will be available in your account for you to support the needs outlined in your application. You will receive the funds in the same account in which you receive your financial aid refund. If you are not a May graduate, you will be enrolled in a placeholder course. The zero-credit hour, no-charge placeholder course will show as “SUOP”. The placeholder allows funding to be added to your budget and funds to be given when you are not enrolled. Changes to your enrollment plans and adding/dropping classes after confirming your summer experience could cause delays or adjustments to your funding. Please alert us should your enrollment plans change.

If you are enrolled in courses for the summer, the grant will first be applied toward your cost of attendance and fees (tuition, on-campus housing, meal plan, etc.) in addition to any Pell or university grant available. Any funding not absorbed by these costs will appear as part of a refund that you can use toward other costs associated with your summer experience. Meaning, you will receive less of your grant in-pocket if you enroll in summer courses.

We expect that awardees will participate in all evaluation and assessment efforts, share photos and video about your experience to share in future reporting and promotional communications.

Notify the Carolina Covenant team. We care about you. Our grant team will work with you to identify a new opportunity that makes sense for you.

We expect this opportunity to provide a positive experience for you and hope that you are excited. We also know that many students may experience various mental health challenges even while engaging in a worthwhile experience. Dr. Jayne Davis – Director of Covenant Scholar Well-being – will be available to you over the summer months by appointment to support your well-being needs.