FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Applications are being accepted for a program that is designed for accomplished and highly motivated undergraduates who are seeking entrepreneurial experiences following graduation.

The Arkansas Fellowship program launched in 2014 with an inaugural class of 11 fellows, and it welcomes applications for its second class. The application deadline for the Arkansas Fellowship is Friday, Oct. 17.

The program has the financial backing of Fifty for the Future, the Northwest Arkansas Council, and Winrock International. Modeled after a successful program in Indiana called the Orr Fellowship, the Arkansas Fellowship identifies and recruits the most promising graduates at Arkansas colleges and universities and keeps them in the state through networking, mentorship and career enrichment activities.  

The Arkansas Fellowship invites applications from thousands of graduating seniors and reviews them to identify the very best. The selection team will rigorously vet the applicants and select a small group of finalists. Then the finalists and the host companies participate in a day of interviews and a match process determines the outcome. The fellows and host companies make a two-year commitment at a $40,000 annual salary, and the Arkansas Fellowship will organize the supplemental activities that will connect and root the Fellows in the community. 

With executive-level mentorship, Arkansas Fellows will have the opportunity to build a reliable and meaningful network of business leaders, co-workers and peers.

 Ideal candidates will:

• Possess a minimum GPA of 3.0 or above
• Have graduated from an Arkansas college or university, or be a native Arkansan graduates from an out-of-state school
• Demonstrate leadership potential and a bias toward entrepreneurship
• Desire to work in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment
• Seek to familiarize themselves with a host of business specialties, such as marketing, finance, sales, etc.
• Nurture the development of a network of like-minded cohorts and invest in meaningful peer relationships during the two-year fellowship
• Relish (and capitalize on) the opportunity to meet and work alongside senior leadership in some of Arkansas’ most dynamic companies
• Embrace risk, responsibility and independence