
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
2025 Civic Engagement and Leadership Program Scholarship Application
CELP application for 2025 is now open. Interested candidates can apply here. Please read the instructions below carefully.
The Korean American Citizens League of New England (KACL-NE) invites high school and college students to apply to the 2025 Civic Engagement and Leadership Program (CELP) Scholarship.
KACL is a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded in 1990 to empower Korean-American communities and their allies through civic engagement, leadership, and cultural programming. Since 1998, CELP, as KACL-NE’s signature program. The provided Korean-American students with internship placements in municipal, state and local government offices as well as weekly professional development and mentoring sessions by KACL board members and other accomplished Korean-American leaders. The program has evolved into a Scholarship program and remains a great opportunity for students to explore careers in public policy, hone their leadership skills, and contribute positively to their communities.
Scholarship recipients are required to 1.) be actively engage in community service; 2.) complete one community service event with KACL-NE during the 2025 – 2026 calendar year; 3.) complete an established civics internship program in the area of public policy, voter registration or government (state, municipal, or federal); and 4.) complete end-of-program evaluations and a short essay describing their experience and community service project, which will be published in KACL-NE’s annual journal. Scholarship recipients are required to complete their civic engagement program between June to August. Scholarship recipients receive 50% of the scholarship upon being selected and the remained upon proof of completion of all community service and civic engagement requirements.
Scholarships are $1000 for high school students and $2,000 for college students. Exact amount may vary depending on other factors such as full-time vs part-time.
Participating Offices:
CELP fellows are expected to identify their civic engagement program. Past scholarship recipients have worked in local and state government and past opportunities have included:
- Representative Vanna Howard (17th Middlesex)
- Representative Tackey Chan (2nd Norfolk)
- Representative Tram Nguyen (18th Essex)
- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (City of Boston)
- Representative Chynah Tyler (7th Suffolk)
Duties and responsibilities at legislative offices may include but are not limited to the following. Please note that the specific duties and responsibilities at each office may vary.
- Constituent work: Log outreach in constituent database and draft response letters to constituent inquiries
- Research: Conduct research and draft memos on different subject matters
- Hearings and briefings: Attend briefings and committee hearings on various policy matters, and report back to assigned offices
- Legislative tracking: Monitor the status of legislation, amendments, and testimonies
- Communications: Maintain and monitor social media, draft documents, and conduct other communications-related tasks as assigned by office supervisor
- Others: Support other administrative or operational tasks as assigned by office supervisor
Community Service Project with KACL:
Starting this year, selected fellows are expected to complete a community service project during CELP that positively benefits Korean American communities in New England. This can be in the form of volunteer hours with KACL, a short research paper, a video or artistic project, or any other creative means that combine fellows’ talents and interests with demonstrated needs of Korean-American communities in New England. During CELP, fellows will identify a topic of interest and receive guidance from KACL in developing and implementing their project.
Application Timeline:
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. As such, it is highly recommended that interested candidates submit their applications as soon as possible. The timeline is subject to change.
- Monday, March 3, 2025: Applications open
- April 31, 2025, 11:59 pm EST: Application deadline
- Between May 10, 2025 and May 30, 2025: Interviews for selected applicants to be conducted on a rolling basis
- Week of May 30, 2025 or earlier: Final decision notification
- June: CELP fundraiser and orientation/training
- June – August: Summer CELP program
Eligibility Requirements:
- A current high school or undergraduate student in good standing
- A US citizen or permanent resident of Korean American origin
- A New England resident or attend a college in New England
- Have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on 4.0 scale)
- Passion for contributing to Korean-American communities and alignment with the KACL-NE mission
- Excellent oral/written communication skills
- Evidence of being willing to learn, adapt and take initiative
What former interns have to say about the program:
“Serving as an intern last summer inspires me to pursue a career in public service and government of my own in the future as it is the best way to give back to the community.”
“I feel that wherever I decide to go with my studies/career, this internship has helped me to develop transferable skills that I can be proud of.”
Questions:
Contact info@kacl-ne.org for any questions regarding 2025 CELP application.
List of Past Distinguished Scholarship Recipients
1998
Thomas S. Kim | Georgetown University(School of Foreign Service)Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.
1999
Caroline Kim | Barnard College Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.Daniel Yoonkwan Kim | Suffolk University Law School Massachusetts Attorney General's Office
David Daesung Lee | Boston College M.A in Political Science Mass. House of Rep./Mass. House Committee on Rules
Sarah Park | Harvard University Mass. State House/Gov.Cellucci's Press Office
2000
Eun Young Choi | Harvard University Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.Song Yee Han | Harvard University Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.
David Kim | Tufts University Senator Edward M. Kennedy's Office in Boston, MA
Benjamin Smith | Boston University Mass. House of Rep./Gov. Cellucci's Ext. Relations
Irene Park | Bowdoin College Mass. State House/Gov. Cellucci's Press Office
James Uhm | Tufts University Masschusetts Attorney General's Office
2001
Min Suk Lee | Tufts UniversityMassachusetts Attorney General's Office
Yumee Lee | University of Pennsylvania
Massachusetts Governor's Office
Unok Nam | Mills College
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.
Doohyun Paek | University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Mass. State House/Gov. Jane Swift's Office
2002
Jennifer Myung | Harvard UniversitySenator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.
Sonia Kim | Harvard University
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.
Yumi Lee | Georgetown University
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.
Chan Joung Lee | Georgia Institute of Technology
Info. Tech. Div. of the Massachusetts Governor's Office
2003
Min Young Lee | Boston CollegeMassachusetts Governor's Office
Hee Jin Lee | Harvard University
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.
Heidi Yoo | Wesleyan University
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.
2004
Se Yeom Kim | Syracuse UniversityMass. State House/Gov. Mitt Romney's Office
Jihun Kim | Syracuse University
Mass. State House/Gov. Mitt Romney's Office
Jeong Mee Oh | Harvard University
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Boston, MA
Jia H. Jung | University of California - Berkely
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washiongton D.C.
2005
Bomie Chae | University of Massachusetts - AmherstSenator John F. Kerry's Office in Boston, MA
Hyejin Yu | University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Massachusetts Governor's Office
Eliza Chon | University of New Hampshire
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Washington D.C.
Jesse Sejin Kim | University of Massachusetts - Boston
City of Boston Mayor's Office
2006
Angelina Hong | Williams CollegeOffice of Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon
Stephanie Chang | Northwestern University
Massachusetts State House
2007
Michael Dong | Bentley UniveristyMassachusetts Governor's Office
Younyoung Lee | Georgetown University
Office of Congressman Doung Lamborn
2008
Yeonman Jung | University of Massachusetts - AmherstOffice of Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon
Michael Shin | Groton School
Office of Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon (Jr. Intern)
Jaewon Lee | Tufts University
Mass. Dept. of Veterans Services
2009
Michelle Dong | Bentley UniveristyMassachusetts Governor's Office
Steven Suh | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Massachusetts Governor's Office
Hyun Jung Kim | St. Paul's School
Office of Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon (Jr. Intern)
Brian Kim | Oyster River High School
New Hampshire Governor's Office (Jr. Intern)
Jae-Hyuk You | Phillips Andover
Office of Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon (Jr. Intern)
2010
Bo-Reum Lee | Brandeis UniversityMassachusetts Governor's Office
Han-Ju Ryu | Babson College
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Boston, MA
Deborah J. Song | Smith College
Massachusetts Governor's Office
Maria Kim | North Reading High School
Massachusetts General Hospital
2011
Sungtae Park | Brandeis UniversityMassachusetts Governor's Office
Soo Mee Yoon | George Washington University
Senator John F. Kerry's Office in Boston, MA
2012
Crystal Jang | Boston UniversityMassachusetts Governor’s Office
Ryan T. Kang | Princeton University
Senator John F. Kerry’s Office in Boston
Eunice Roh | Vassar College
Massachusetts Governor's Office
Seyoung Kim | Holy Name High School
Office of Cambridge City Councilor Leland Cheung
2013
Elizabeth LeeSoo Hee Yoon
Yoo Jin Ahn
Dong Hwan Kim (HS)
2014
Juyoung HwangSJ Richard Kim
Sol Park
Esther Choi (HS)
Beitrice Choo (HS)
Timothy Juang (HS)
Byung Joon Lee (HS)
Michael Yeung (HS)
Sihak Lee (HS)
2015
Jean ParkEsther Choi (HS)
Alex HY Park (HS)
Minki Seo (HS)
Liz Lim (HS)
Stephen Park (HS)
2016
Hannah JinHeidi Park
Junhyuk Jang (HS)
Wonyoung Jang (HS)
Yunkyo Kim (HS)
Brian Ko (HS)
Sarah Oh (HS)
Jinyung Suh (HS)
2017
WonYoung JangJames Heo
Chris Jun
JiHun Ko
Yury Namgung
Nicholas Kim
TaeHyun Lee
Alexander Park
Jeongwook Yi
2018
Hyewon Sabrina Baang | Acton-Boxborough High SchoolYubin Cho | Lexington High School
Randy Lee | Dracut High School
Jae Hoon Lee | Lexington High School
Jiung Choye
Chan Ju Scott Lee
2019
Jihyeon Grace Choi | Vanderbilt UniversityJeong Wan Choi | Lexington High School
Yehoon Jang | Lexington High School
Kateline Kim | Masconomet Regional High School
Sanghoo Lee | Weston High School
2021
Jonathan Dees | University of Massachusetts AmherstGrace Lee | Brandeis University
Lauren Lim | Lynnfield High School
David Min | Buckingham Browne & Nichols School
Shyun Moon | Newton North High School
Claire Pak | Lexington High School
Alex Shieh | Phillips Academy
2022
Stephanie Choi | Amherst College
Yoojin Choi | Belmont High School
Rachel Heo | Longmeadow High School
John Lee | Noble and Greenough School
Esther Park | Concord-Carlisle High School
Erik Shin | Newton North High School
2023
Yubin Cho | Cornell University
Yuhan Kim | Yale University
Cailyn Kim | The Rivers School
Kathy Lim | Lexington High School
Ryan Park | Belmont High School
Kelly Sung | St. Paul's School
2024
Hannah McMillian | Emerson College
Gahyun Lee | Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
Chaewon (Celina) Hwang | Austin Preparatory School
Serin Hwang | Boston College
Erin Han | Phillips Exeter Academy
Jiyu Moon | Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School
Irene Shin | Algonquin Regional High School/Northeastern University