Contributed by Francis Bencik, SEF Grants Manager
The Shinnyo Fellowship Orientation took place on July 18th, 2024, in Redwood City, welcoming the 2024-25 cohort of Shinnyo Fellows. This year, three post-undergraduate Fellows from George Mason University, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley joined with their supervisors to embark on a year of impactful service and community engagement.
The Orientation serves as an introduction to Shinnyo-en Foundation’s mission and values and its Infinite Paths to Peace Initiative while allowing the Fellows to reflect on their individual paths to peace. The day’s activities were designed to cultivate a sense of camaraderie and connection among the Fellows, who were eager yet a bit nervous to begin their journey. During the event, the Fellows shared their stories, discussing their motivations, hopes, and plans for their year of service and reflection. The reflection activity of this year’s orientation was making of the Inside/Outside Box. Each Fellow received a small box, which they decorated. The outside of the box represented the way others saw them—their external strengths, how they might be misunderstood, etc. The inside of the box represented how they saw themselves—their authentic selves, hopes, fears, dreams, and desires, or their essence. Afterwards, they shared their boxes in a large group and answered reflection and debriefing questions. To view more photos from the 2024 Shinnyo Fellowship Orientation, please visit the Foundation’s Flickr album.
Proudly Announcing the 2023-2024 Shinnyo Fellows
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
Jessica Jeffers
Jessica Jeffers completed a B.A. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution with a concentration in Interpersonal Dynamics. During her time as an undergraduate student, she strengthened her abilities in facilitation, mediation, and interpersonal communication. Each of these skills were enhanced through coursework and active collaboration with organizations that focus on accountability, redemption, and empowerment. Her interest resides in collaborating with community-oriented organizations that support marginalized communities through the engagement of sustainable solutions that promote success.
The John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at STANFORD UNIVERSITY and Redwood City Together
Mia Bennett
Mia Bennett (she/her) recently graduated from Stanford University where she studied Human Biology with a concentration in maternal and child health. During her time in college, she became passionate about understanding how cultural, environmental, and personal experiences shape our approaches to health and wellbeing. She strongly believes in the power of knowledge, community, and autonomy in supporting healthy and joyful lifestyles. From experiences such as working at the Blue Zones Project in Salinas, California, she has grown to love the challenge of designing innovative approaches to addressing health inequities, particularly those faced by children in underserved communities. Mia is also passionate about improving access to reproductive healthcare and hopes to expand on her experience at Stanford Planned Parenthood Generation Action as she pursues a career in medicine. At Redwood City Together and the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities, she is excited to learn from the vibrant people and community around her.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY & Berkeley 2020 Vision
Sydney Tran
Sydney Tran (she/her) recently graduated from UC Berkeley, where she obtained a B.A. in Psychology with minors in Linguistics and Early Development & Learning Science. She grew up in Sacramento and went to Folsom High School, where she developed a love for service and giving back to her community. This work continued into her undergraduate years, where she worked alongside BUILD (Berkeley United in Literacy Development) as a mentor and director. For four years, she provided one-on-one literacy support to elementary school students with the goal of building confidence and a love for reading, as well as training and mentorship for fellow mentors in her role as a director. For the past two summers, she has also been a teaching assistant for Pre-College Academy, which is hosted by UC Berkeley’s Early Academic Outreach Program. In this position, she had the opportunity to support her classroom instructor while providing individual guidance and academic support to high schoolers in her class. These experiences, combined with her involvement with other high school outreach programs in college, have inspired a passion and drive for increasing college access for communities of color and low-income communities. As a first-generation college student and eldest child to immigrant parents, she understands the struggles of navigating the higher education setting, especially as an introvert who is anxious to ask for help and talk to others. She hopes to become a source of support and mentorship that she always wished she had as the newest Shinnyo College Access Fellow.