Student Opportunities

Student Fellowship Program

The call for applications for the 2026-27 cycle of our Student Fellowship Program is now open. 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.

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 runs over two semesters. 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 27^th, 2026. We will notify you by the end of the semester whether you have been accpeted into this program. 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?

If you have any questions, please reach out to Ranjeeta Basu at rbasu@csusm.edu

Student Fellows 2025-26

MARY HAMER

Mary is a student fellow with Mindful ��Ů and has a rich understanding of contemplative practices. It began with curiosity and blossomed into a routine that allows a positive redirection in her life. Mary has surmounted many personal challenges and is a transfer student seeking eventually to purse graduate school to become a social worker. One activity that she said worked well in her life is an activity called journal speak. This activity allowed her to empty her emotional bucket to assist with the difficult emotions in her life. To anyone who is new to mindfulness practice Mary suggests finding an activity unique to you and also try out the application headspace. She recommends giving yourself grace and that you will not always be inspired but consistency is paramount to an inner awakening.

Kayne O'reilly Collins

Kayne is very passionate about mindfulness. She has been practicing mindfulness for a few years now. She uses deep breathing practices to be able to process her emotions. She took the four week mindfulness course with Frank! and she learned a lot from the more structured education of mindfulness.

She plans to pursue a post graduate degree in Psychology. By being a mindfulness fellow, she continues to learn about mindfulness practices, how to implement them in her own life, and how to teach them to others. Since she plans to work with youth, her clientele will be heavily influenced by their emotions, because their prefrontal cortex isn't fully developed. Mindfulness practices help shift activity from the limbic system, amygdala, to the prefrontal cortex, prompting better logical decision making, compared to emotional-based decision making. IShe plans to use the skills she develops as a mindfulness fellow to help her clients accomplish their goals.

Lesly Rodriguez

Lesly is currently enrolled in the Master's in Public Health program at ��Ů. Lesly's experience with mindfulness comes from her undergraduate experience as a dance minor with ��Ů Dance Studies. Throughout her undergraduate dance courses she learned more about body awareness and how to regulate the nervous system. Combining mindfulness and movement through somatic practices taught her how to create holistic experiences that foster self awareness, well-being, and allow one to focus on breath.

Participating in this fellowship program will enhance her future career path by encouraging her to find ways to implement mindfulness in not only her professional work but also her personal life. Prioritizing mindfulness practices in her personal life will allow her to feel more connected and present to better serve the communities she is working with. As a future public health professional, she also wants to promote mindfulness to marginalized communities that are at risk for higher stress and anxiety because health is shaped by systems built to fail certain communities.

Mona Saii

Mona is currently a second-year graduate student in the Psychological Science M.A. program at ��Ů with the goal of attending a Ph.D. program and becoming a professional researcher in the field of cognitive psychology. While her interests in the field primarily concern attention and working memory, she is fascinated by the flow experience, Buddhism, and the practice of meditation, which were fostered during her early undergraduate student years at Moorpark College. Practicing mindfulness meditation as a CCP fellow of the 2025-2026 class and in general, will expand her ability to carry out work-related responsibilities and daily life with presence, attentiveness, and compassion toward self and others.

Melissa Elias

Melissa's mindfulness journey began at ��Ů, where weekly class exercises first challenged her —and then transformed her. Now pursuing a Master’s in Social Work, she recalls how a VRbased
activity helped her see mindfulness as a powerful tool for managing depression and anxiety.

Today, her daily practice blends body awareness, mindful walking, and intentional eating, and she enjoys exploring different styles through campus sessions. She’s passionate about higher education and dreams of giving back to ��Ů, where she once served as a peer mentor and staff member in academic advising. Her advice? “Stay open with your mind and heart. That’s how you find what you’re truly looking for. And don’t forget to explore your creativity.”

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 starting 6 hours of your 15 hours attending any combination of our workshops and daily dose sessions to learn more about mindfulness and the activities of the center. Once you have completed at least 3 of your 6 hours of attending CCP events, you will spend nine hours helping us with outreach efforts which include one or more of the following:

Tabling and facilitating outreach efforts.
Helping with our social media efforts.
Working on our newsletter.
Working on our website.
Facilitating Mandala lab activities.

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

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 activities, 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

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