Madison resident named Hess Fellow

The Hess Center for Leadership and Service at Birmingham-Southern College has announced its 2011 class of Hess Fellows, and a Madison resident is among them.

David Olsen is a rising junior business administration major from Madison.  

The 14 rising juniors and seniors selected  Birmingham-Southern will spend eight weeks this summer working as full-time staff members at some of the nation’s leading advocacy organizations.  They will tackle a broad range of issues, including ending world hunger, improving education, empowering women, eliminating homelessness, and revitalizing downtown Birmingham, as they interact with policymakers and learn the mechanics of advocacy. 

Olsen will work with the Alabama Poverty Project in Birmingham.

 The Hess Fellows Program consists of three phases.  In addition to the summer advocacy internships, Hess Fellows are participating in five pre-internship seminars this spring.  Upon returning to Birmingham-Southern for the 2011 academic year in September, each Fellow will design and implement an advocacy project on campus.  “The guiding mission of the program is to transform students into advocates for social change, a goal that resonates with the BSC community,” said Jeanne Jackson, director of the college’s Leadership Studies Program.  “Student applications doubled this year, and a record number of agencies requested to host a Hess Fellow from BSC.”