Student Opportunities

Student Fellowship Program

The Center for Contemplative Practices (CCP) is opening the call for applications for the next cycle (2025-26) of our Student Fellowship Program. This award program offers students facing financial constraints an opportunity to develop mindfulness skills relevant to their chosen career path. Participants will engage in a series of mindfulness-related workshops, courses, and research opportunities with the Center over a one-year period. We anticipate that these opportunities will enhance participants’ resumes and aid them in their pursuit of professional and personal goals.Please scroll down to find the application link. The call for applications will remain open till April 18th, 2025. Successful applicants will be notified by the end of the spring semester.

Why?

The events of the past two years have highlighted the importance of helping equip our students with knowledge and skills to navigate ongoing uncertainty with resiliency and compassion, ensuring their success in the face of current and future challenges. Over the past 20 years, the reach of mindfulness practices has expanded dramatically. Research has shown that contemplative practices can offer students an opportunity to develop lifelong skills that foster increased mental, physical, social, and emotional well-being. Contemplative pedagogy is now widely recognized and accepted by research and practitioner communities as an innovative and effective teaching and wellness practice. Unfortunately, many opportunities to learn mindfulness skills are prohibitively expensive. In addition, most students must work to support themselves so enrolling in mindfulness classes often means lost wages. The CCP student fellowship program provides a paid opportunity for students to learn mindfulness skills and develop their resumes.

Who should apply?

We invite undergraduate and graduate students who have an interest in mindfulness as a personal and professional practice to apply to this program. No prior experience necessary. The program will run over two semesters from fall 2025 through spring 2026. If you have already taken a 6-week or semester-long mindfulness course, you can enroll in the CCP student fellowship program for one semester.

What are Student Fellows expected to do?

Student fellows will receive $500 per semester. Over the course of one year, student fellows will be expected to do the following:

Develop a daily personal mindfulness practice.
Attend at least one daily dose of mindfulness session weekly through the two semesters to practice in a group setting.
Attend at least three CCP workshops during the year.
Attend one 6-week course offered by CCP or one semester-long 1-unit mindfulness course offered by Kinesiology (KINE 150).
Participate in a research/service project offered by CCP and write a reflective/research paper.
Work with a faculty member/practitioner to learn how to apply mindfulness practices to one’s future career path and include these skills in one’s resume.
Opportunity to reflect on and present about the student fellow experience at an end of year showcase.

How to Apply

by April 18^th, 2025. In your application you will answer the following questions:

What, if any, is your prior experience with mindfulness practices?
Why are you interested in participating in this program?
How might participating in this program enhance your future career path?
If accepted into this program, how will you make sure that you have enough time to participate in this program?

Student Fellows 2024-25

Anri Le Roux

Hi, my name is Anri Le Roux. I am currently pursuing a bachelor’s in economics at California State University San Marcos (��), with the goal of earning a Ph.D. in Economics, focusing on behavioral economics. I transitioned to �� from MiraCosta Community College, where I earned my A.A. in Math and Sciences.

I am particularly interested in research that combines mindfulness and behavioral decision-making, especially within educational contexts. As a non-traditional student and former foster youth, I am passionate about understanding how students learn and how mindfulness practices can help students make informed decisions about their learning journeys. In my personal life, I have two dogs, Bella and Chubbs, and a snake named Luca Brasi.

Coral Simms

My name is Coral Simms. I am a psychology major. Mindfulness became an interest of mine in 2020. I practiced regularly outside and learned through books and online resources but as the world opened again, my mindfulness practice took a back seat. I got caught up in life. While I was still interested and practiced occasionally, it was not a priority therefore it was always put on the backburner. The Center for Contemplative Practice fellowship has helped me prioritize my well-being and mindfulness practice again. Regularly engaging in mindfulness practice helps me manage stress so I can focus on improving my life and preparing for the next steps after graduation. It serves as a great way to prioritize myself which in turn makes me kinder, more present, and able to juggle the demands of my busy schedule.

Hannah Dennis

Hello, my name is Hannah Dennis and I am a CCP fellow for 2024-2025. I am a 4th year psychology major with plans to become a marriage and family therapist. I applied to join the center for contemplative practices fellowship to develop a better understanding of what mindfulness is and how to apply it to my own life and future career. By applying what I’ve learned within this fellowship, I’ve enhanced my capacity for attention and gained clarification in my personal life. The CCP fellowship has also opened doors to new opportunities in research for me as well, allowing me to gain skills in transcriptions and coding.

Connor Sweeny

Hello! My name is Connor Sweeny, I am a second year transfer student at ��. I am a Kinesiology major and hope to pursue a career in health sciences either as a physical therapist or as a physician's assistant. My favorite mindful practice is the 4 elements practice, as it reminds me of how even at rest the physiological systems of my body are always working. During the summer I work as a lifeguard for the city of San Diego, mostly out of Pacific Beach and Mission beach. I swam competitively for San Diego Mesa College for two years, and still enjoy swimming twice a week with the �� swim club. In my downtime, I enjoy surfing, listening to classical music and exercising.

Ace Amodeo

My name is Ace and I'm majoring in I/O psychology, hoping to get into the Master's program at SJSU also in I/O psychology, but with a focus on psychometrics. I am a first generation college student who is passionate about various mindfulness practices, in particular Vipassana meditation. I hope to eventually see a world where all people can lead with compassion both for themselves, and by extension for the world.

Jennifer Coronel Yanez

My name is Jennifer Coronel Yanez. As a student fellow at the Center for Contemplative Practices, mindfulness has guided my life, shaping my academic journey and personal growth. I am passionate about fostering self-awareness, emotional balance, and compassion, and I integrate these values into my studies and everyday experiences.

Looking ahead, I aspire to become a clinical psychologist, with a focus on reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness in the criminal justice system. I believe mindfulness plays a key role in this work, helping individuals develop emotional regulation and resilience. Many involved in criminal behavior struggle with untreated mental health issues, and I am committed to advocating for compassionate, evidence-based care. By incorporating mindfulness practices into mental health rehabilitation, I hope to create systems that provide the treatment these individuals deserve, fostering both healing and personal transformation.

Service-Learning Opportunities

With our new center on mindfulness practices on our campus, we are looking for students to help us with outreach, especially focusing on ways to engage students. The assignment includes the following:

Attend workshops to learn about mindfulness practices.
Attend five to six hours of daily dose sessions through the semester so that you can practice mindfulness in a group setting.
You will spend another six to seven hours helping us with outreach efforts which include creating promotional materials, tabling, running information sessions, managing our social media etc. We ask that you share your experience with mindfulness with other students in an effort to get the word out. You will be our mindfulness ambassadors.

Internship Opportunities

All interns are required to:

Attend workshops to learn about mindfulness practices.
Attend at least one daily dose of mindfulness session weekly through the semester to practice in a group setting.
Attend one 4 to 6-week course offered by CCP or one semester-long 1-unit mindfulness course offered by Kinesiology (KINE 150).

Outreach Coordinator

The duties of this position include coordinating the tabling activities, outreach to campus orgs, outreach to community orgs, developing promotional materials, coordinating social media activites, developing a newsletter.

Care Economy Project Coordinatior

Interns are expected to provide support and assistance with the compassion and care economy action project. The duties include:

Co-facilitate care economy action sessions with the community.
Receive training in mindfulness practices that build compassion.
Develop materials related to the care economy.
Maintaining and contributing to the compassion and care economy website.

For more information, please contact Ranjeeta Basu at rbasu@csusm.edu