A Guide to Applying for the Wells Mountain Initiative Scholarship 2023 is a presentation by a WMI Graduate Scholar Dr. Leju Benjamin Modi in partnership with the Excellence Foundation for South Sudan. This is as part of effort to raise awareness about the scholarship scheme to South Sudanese audience, increase the number of South Sudanese applicants thereby high selection chances.

1. WMI SCHOLARSHIP
INFORMATION SESSION 1
Sunday, December 18, 2022; 1:00 – 3:00 PM CAT
Via Zoom.
By Dr.Leju Benjamin Modi (WMI Graduate Scholar, 2018)

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
• About WMI
• WMI Impact (Results)
• Being a WMI Scholar – Student Scholar; Graduate
Scholar
• Application process –

3. ABOUT THE WMI

4. • In 2005, Wells Mountain Initiative, WMI [then Wells Mountain
Foundation, WMF] was founded with the idea that we could have an
important role to play in helping young people in the developing
world by leveling the global playing field for education,
opportunity and justice.
• https://www.wellsmountaininitiative.org/
OurVision
• Young people are able to realize their full potential and become
leaders in creating the changes they want to see in their
communities and, ultimately, the world.

5. OUR APPROACH
WMI’s model is unique in three ways:
• Local Leadership - WMI Scholars lead in the face of daunting challenges and
are implementing fresh and creative solutions to the world’s most pressing
problems.
• Global Peer-to-Peer Collaboration - Through community development
grants and technical assistance to support scholar-led initiatives and regular
strategy convenings (regional/global leaderships, DBCs), we help sustain
and amplify locally-led change.
• Building Sectors - We focus on building local leadership in high-need
sectors- such as health, education and the environment so that WMI Scholars
can bring badly needed resources to under-served regions and communities

6. WMI IMPACT
• We believe rigorously evaluating our programs is crucial to
ensuring we are making an impact. We require bi-annual academic
and community service reports from all student scholars, conduct in-
depth annual surveys of our graduate scholars, and 3 month and 1
year evaluations of all community development grants projects.

7. WMI IMPACT CONT’ – SCHOLAR OUTCOMES
(650!)
• 365 Student Scholars
• 285 Graduate Scholars
• 54 Countries represented (world wide, including South Sudan)
• 38,944 Hours of community service completed by student scholars this year
(2022)
• 80% of student scholars have leadership positions in community and/or school
groups
• 80% are the first generation in their family to attend tertiary education
• 86% of graduate scholars are employed-90% in their field of study
• 35% of graduate scholars run their own nonprofit or business, employing over
275 people and serving over 12,500

8. • 55% of graduate scholars are supporting the education of someone else
• 96 Community projects, led by graduate scholars, funded since 2016
• 61% of graduate scholars serve in leadership positions in volunteer
community and/or civic groups
• 13 WMI Fellowships established (including WMI SSF), with 333 members
• 61% of graduate scholars are currently involved in volunteer work, civic
and/or community groups
• 35% of student scholars have started their own non-profit or business
• 45% of graduate scholars are health care professionals; 15% in Business;
14% in STEM fields; 5% in Law; 5% Community Development; 5% in
Education

9. THE SCHOLARSHIP…
• We award 60 – 80 scholarships a year (82/1170 complete
applications awarded last year, a chance of 7%!)
• Maximum scholarship is US $3000 a year, but average is US $1500 a
year.
• The scholarship supports
• Tuition and fees
• Books and materials
• Other related costs

10. SELECTION – LAST 5 YEARS (2018 – 2022)
Year
Total
Applications
Total Selected
(%)
Selected by Country (%)
Kenya South Sudan Uganda
2022 1170 82 (7%) 12% 4% 15%
2021 1374 80 (6%) 13% 1% 16%
2020 1371 62 (5%) 9% 3% 14%
2019 1175 75 (6%) 15% 7% 9%
2018 1168 57 (5%) 14% 5% 5%

11. BEING A WMI STUDENT/GRADUATE
SCHOLAR
Student Scholar
• Stay in school studying
• Semester/termly grades
• Volunteer project reports – 100
hrs/year - honesty in reporting is
required, fabrication of stories is not
allowed
• Eligible for Global Advisory Board,
Regional Leadership
• Attend Dream Big Conference (DBC)
• Membership in country’s fellowship
Graduate Scholar
• Completed studies (working,
etc.)/alumnus
• Eligible for Community Development
Grants (Seed and Growth Grants)
• Eligible for Global Advisory Board,
Regional Leadership
• Attend DBC
• Membership in country’s fellowship

12. THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Our Ideal Candidate – A student, male or female, from a country
in the developing world who:
• Successfully completed a secondary education, with good to
excellent grades
• Is 35 or under on March 1, 2023
• Will be studying in his or her country or another country in the
developing world*, studies within your home nation or a
neighboring developing nation
• Is pursuing his or her first bachelor’s degree or diploma

13. Ideal Candidate Cont’….
• Will be enrolled in a program of study that will benefit the
community and/or contribute to the continued growth and
advancement of his or her home country
• Plans to live and work in his or her own country after graduation
dedication to home community through service
• Has demonstrated his or her commitment to giving back and has
volunteered prior to applying
• May have some other funds available for his or her education, but
will not be able to go to pursue his or her tertiary degree without
financial assistance

14. • Applications must be received by March 1 of each year to be
considered for the following academic year. WMI Scholars are
selected through an in-depth multi-step review process. The
selected WMI Scholars will be emailed on August 1. Their names
will also be published on our website homepage and the WMI
Facebook page. Those who are not selected will also be notified
after August 1.
• *Scholars planning to study in the United States, Canada, Australia,
UK or Western Europe will not qualify for a WMI Scholarship.

15. Tips for Becoming a Competitive Applicant
The following are suggestions to enhance your application:
• Record all of your service activities (dates, activities, time spent,
photographs, etc.)
• Have someone proofread your essays before submitting them.
• Collect the documents early.
• The recommendation letters shouldn't really be from someone who
knows you personally, these need to be from a supervisor, a leader
or a teacher they had; someone who knows them professionally.

16. The following are required elements for an application to be
considered complete:
• Clear personal photo
• Essay (topic is stated on application form), all essays are put
through a multi-step plagiarism/fraud review process
• 2023 application form
• Personal essay statement
• Two recommendation letters*
• Official transcript of grades from secondary school
• Official grading key to interpret secondary school grades**

17. • Official transcript of grades from tertiary studies (if applicable)
• Official grading key to interpret tertiary grades**
• Official results from your national exam
• Official grading key to interpret scores on your national exam**
• A national ID card
• *Recommendation letters – see guidelines for an effective recommendation letter
• **Official grading keys must be provided by the school issuing the grades or the
government issuing the national exam.

18. HOW TO APPLY…
1. APPLYING ONLINE: You will be redirected to a portal where you
will be asked to create a free account (username and password), fill
out information and upload documents. We strongly suggest that you
apply online as it will provide you with the opportunity to save your
work and return multiple times. You will also guarantee that your
application, once submitted online, will be received and reviewed.
• File format types accepted are: JPG, PNG, GIF, DOC, DOCX,
PDF (version 10 or newer).

19. 2. MAIL-IN: You will need to print the 2023 application form below
(available December 1, 2022) and it is your responsibility to clearly
complete it and attach all required supporting documents before sending
it to us. Applications must be received by March 1, 2023 in our office.
Applications that arrive after March 1, 2023 will not be reviewed. This
means that you must allow at least three weeks to mail your
application to us from abroad. Only send one completed application.
Incomplete or additional mailings with supporting documents will be
discarded. We highly encourage applicants to apply online to ensure
the delivery of their completed application. DO NOT email us
completed applications with multiple attachments; we do not accept
applications sent via email.

20. SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION MAILING ADDRESS:
Wells Mountain Initiative
25D Main Street
Bristol,Vermont 05443
United States of America

21. • We wish everyone luck in preparing their applications. We
encourage all applicants to remember that acceptance in
the WMI Scholarship Program requires a dedicated interest
in community service, improving your nation, and working
within your country after graduation.

22. APPLICATION PROCESS - TIMELINES
• December 1, 2022 • Application Opens
• March 1, 2023 • Application Closes
• April-July, 2023 • Review of Applications
• August 1, 2023 • Announcement of Scholarship
Recipients
• September 2023 • First Installment of Scholarships Wired

23. ATTENTION APPLICANTS!!!!
• APPLICATION WINDOW: December 1, 2022 – March 1,
2023.
• Submitting your Scholarship Application to WMI is FREE
OF CHARGE!!

24. RESOURCES:
• 2023 WMI Paper Application
https://www.wellsmountaininitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2023-Wells-Mountain-
Initiative-Paper-Application.pdf
• WMI Scholar Program Information Sheet
https://www.wellsmountaininitiative.org/wp-
content/uploads/2022/11/2023_WMI_Scholar_Program_Information_Sheet-.docx.pdf
• FAQs for Prospective Scholars
https://www.wellsmountaininitiative.org/wp-
content/uploads/2022/11/2023_FAQs_for_Prospective_Scholars.docx.pdf
• Guidelines for recommendation letters
https://www.wellsmountaininitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Guidelines-for-Effective-
Application-Recommendation-Letters.pdf

25. NEXT STEPS FOR YOU….?
• Acquaint yourself with all the above resources on the
website!
• Gather all requirements in place, starting NOW!
• Launch your application
• Next information session will be on January 22, 2023, 1 PM
CAT via Zoom (preferably to polish your applications
before submitting)

26. THANK YOU!
Q&A