CSUEB alumnus selected for Cal Executive Fellowship
Kourtney Bell
- October 1, 2010
A ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ alumnus will soon begin taking part in a government program created to prepare future leaders of California.
Kourtney Bell, ’10, political science, was selected for a California Executive Fellowship, one of four areas of the Capital Fellows program.
The program annually offers 18 college graduates a chance to experience policy-making and development within the state government in Sacramento.
This year, the California Executive Fellowship Program received more than 1,400 applications, with only 80 candidates selected for interviews.
Since his junior year in college, Bell, 26, has hoped for such an opportunity.
“I anticipated questions and prepared myself for anything they were going to ask me,” Bell said about the application process. “I’ve had to work hard.”
The opportunities to learn about how the government works and any connections to the law offered by the program are what motivated Bell to apply. Ready for any challenge, he hopes to become involved with the governor’s cabinet through the fellowship, which begins Oct. 25.
Capital Fellows is sponsored by the Office of the Governor and Sacramento State University. As part of the program, each fellow is given assignments measuring their dependability, commitment and responsibility. Once in the program, they work for 11 months as full-time members of a legislative, executive, or judicial branch of the government.
The program is popular across the country, attracting students from as far away as the East Coast, including graduates of Harvard University. The California Executive Fellowship Program was voted one of the top 10 internships of 2010 by Forbes, alongside Google, J.P. Morgan's Investment Bank and Nickelodeon Animation Studios.
The new executive fellow is among a long line of Bell family members who have attended ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥, as his mother, father, sister and five uncles previously were students at the university.
Interested in becoming a judge, Bell said his ultimate goal is to run for mayor of Richmond. He believes giving back to communities will be important in his career, which is why he currently works with Dream Develop Do, a non-profit organization that offers individuals the chance to attend college at affordable rates.
“I thank (CSUEB’s) Political Science Department and Associated Students Inc. for their help in getting me where I am,” Bell said. “If you listen to your professors, you can achieve anything.”