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Public policy and political economy major Joseph Pool ’26 has been selected as one of 20 students nationwide for the inaugural cohort of Interfaith America’s BRAID Student Fellowship. The award supports undergraduate students from across the nation by offering a shared community for students to explore and demonstrate the principles of pluralism, including respect for various religious and cultural identities, relationship building, and cooperation across difference.

Each student fellow receives a $1,000 campus project award and a $2,000 stipend for participating in the fellowship. Additionally, Interfaith America (IA) provides student fellows with two all-expenses-paid in-person gatherings: the opening leadership retreat and the Interfaith Leadership Summit/closing fellowship ceremony. The program pairs two student fellows with a joint mentor across worldview and/or campus affiliation. Each student fellow also works with an on-campus sponsor (staff or faculty member) who assists them in facilitating an interfaith bridge-building project.

Pool’s Rollins experience has directly prepared him for this fellowship. In 2023, fueled by his love of food and intercultural exchange as well as his student-faculty research experience, Pool founded the student organization Breaking Bread to build community and bridges divides through shared meals and conversation. The club has quickly become one of the fastest-growing on campus, drawing over 100 members in its inaugural week. Leading Breaking Bread has also solidified Pool’s interest in studying law and pursuing a career in food policy.

In February, Pool joined student leaders from 15 campuses across the nation in Salt Lake City to initiate Interfaith America’s 2025 BRAID Fellowship, the first in-person gathering of the program. The three-day retreat created space for fellows to form friendships with peers, learn valuable listening and bridge-building skills from IA staff, and collaborate with interfaith mentors to ideate on forthcoming bridge-building projects on their respective campuses.

The fellowship runs through August and culminates with attendance at the 2025 Interfaith Leadership Summit, as well as with a creative narrative capstone project that encompasses student fellows working collaboratively with each other and IA staff to design a medium for sharing their fellowship experiences.

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