Dear Class of 2020:

Every day since March 11, I’ve felt both loss and pride, in equal measure.

I miss you and the many special moments I had hoped to spend with you during your last semester at CMC. Moments you especially expected to spend with one another, as you savored the final days on campus and looked forward to the many celebrations: from thesis party to senior week, to commencement.

I’m also proud of you. I see you as the next great generation. Your generous and spirited response to this crisis reaffirms my long-held view.

As you know, we can’t reverse the clock. We can’t get those moments back. But we can double down on our commitment to each of you. We can help you put your learning to work. We can do our best to help you create opportunities, just when they appear most constrained. We can respond to an unprecedented public health and economic crisis by putting you in a strong position to have real impact and achieve long-term success. We can make an investment in each of you today, fully confident that you will make similar investments in those who follow you tomorrow.

Thanks to the support of a very generous anonymous donor, Michelle Chamberlain, Nyree Gray, and Beth Milev have developed a special post-graduate fellowship to help you overcome the many challenges ahead.

In pursuit of our commitment to help you put learning to work, we are excited to announce the CMC Impact Fellowship (the “Fellowship”).

First, the Fellowship is flexible in offering four phases, each three months long. Many of you may only take advantage of the first phase this summer, known as the Impact Accelerator Project. Others may continue into the fall for Phase Two or participate in all four phases over the course of the next 12 months.

Second, the Fellowship takes an individualized approach. Fellows can customize a curriculum of workplace skills tailored to the current and emerging needs of the private, public, and social sectors, as well as an internship or self-directed opportunity or experience. Fellows will also have an opportunity to develop and execute a personalized placement strategy.

Third, each Fellow is eligible for a stipend for each of the four phases. The stipends range, up to $5,000 per phase. For those with additional need, to cover housing and the basic costs of living, the stipend will be enhanced up to a maximum of $10,000 per phase.

Finally, the stipends support a wide range of opportunities. This funding will enable you to work for an employer who may not be able initially to hire you. You may work for a state or local government. You may intern with a start-up, a small business, or a local NGO. You may even be able to develop your own a venture in response to the COVID-19 crisis or start a new business.

We believe that this post-graduate fellowship program will help you bridge any potential gap between graduation and fulltime employment, graduate school, or other competitive fellowships.

Please review the basic contours of the program here.

At CMC, our alumni have launched successful careers in both good times and bad. Together, we can build on that track record. Through this new Impact Fellowship and many other programs, we can help you put learning to work and create your legacy of impact and success for the Class of 2020.

Please continue to take care of yourselves and one another.

We wish you all well.

Very best,

Hiram