RK
Rachel Katch
  • athletic training
  • Class of 2013
  • St Charles, MI

Rachel Katch Was Selected for Roberts Fellows Leadership Program

2013 Jun 25

Rachel Katch a athletic training major from St. Charles, Mich., is among 11 other students selected for Roberts Fellows Leadership Program. Katch, and the other Saginaw Valley State University students selected, will learn what it takes to become exceptional leaders after being chosen for one of SVSU's most prestigious undergraduate programs.

The students will add a concentrated focus on leadership to their studies after being selected to participate in the Roberts Fellows program for the 2013-14 academic year. The Roberts fellowships support a select group of students who have demonstrated both scholarship and leadership potential. These students will be supported through a two-semester program of both academic course work and extracurricular activities that is designed to further develop their potential as future political, economic and civic leaders. The program culminates in a trip to Asia to provide the Fellows with an international perspective on leadership. To qualify, students must have completed between 48 and 100 credit hours with a minimum grade point average of 3.40 and pass a rigorous selection process. Students are chosen based upon their academic accomplishment, a record of university and community service, and other evidence of leadership potential.

Students selected to be Roberts Fellows will be required to complete a three-credit "Leadership Seminar" in the fall and winter semesters within one or more academic departments. During the year, the Fellows will also meet for informal seminars and discussions with various political, business and civic leaders from throughout the Great Lakes Bay region. Andrew Swihart, professor of psychology, and Brian Thomas, associate professor of sociology, serve as the group's faculty advisors. Established in 1999, the program is named in honor of Donna Roberts of Midland, who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to SVSU through her personal generosity and prior service on the Board of Control and the Board of Fellows. A respected attorney, business leader and philanthropist, Roberts retired from The Dow Chemical Company, where she was Secretary and Assistant General Counsel. She is an honorary director of the SVSU Foundation Board.