Submit an Opportunity Request for Funding

Students should apply for funding if the money will be used to pay for preparation costs, registration costs, travel costs, lodging, or other such expenditures for attending an academic conference, attending a significant professional meeting, conducting research, engaging in the service of others, or any other event that shall significantly advance the student’s personal, professional, and/or academic growth. Priority is given to students who have exhausted other funding options first.

Opportunity Fund Application

Selection Procedure: The Opportunity Fund Committee evaluates received requests within two weeks of being submitted.

Funding Parameters:

  • Maximum funding per student: $400
  • Maximum funding per student for entire time at Westminster: $800
  • Maximum funding per event (for group events): $1,200
  • Maximum funding for Graduate School Visits (Program not offered at Westminster): $200
  • No tuition expenses or program requirements will receive funding
  • No study abroad programs will receive funding
  • No May term trips will receive funding
  • Funding is designed for unexpected opportunities*

*Unexpected opportunities defined as any event that is not anticipated annually by a school organization or group. Some examples of expected opportunities may include conferences departments attend regularly or competitive tournaments for teams that have existed for more than one year. The Opportunity Fund Committee will determine if an opportunity is unexpected.

Upon completion of your approved event, please fill out the Opportunity Fund response form to detail the benefits of your experience.  Please also submit a photo of your experience to the ASW Director of Budget and Accounting at aswbudget@westminstercollege.edu.

Opportunity Fund Experiences

2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing

This was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. The conference lasted three days, and each day was filled with seminars, mentoring, socializing/networking, job hunting, and so many other great things. I was able to network with incredible women in my field and get interview experience. I also learned that I’m interested in several fields that I had never considered before. This opportunity was the missing link between my education and my career. After attending this conference, I sincerely hope that I can inspire other females to seek out this life changing experience.

-Hanna Rosen

2014 Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education

All six of us are pursuing the Outdoor Education & Leadership minor, and attending this conference was the perfect supplement to our coursework. One of the most meaningful aspects of the conference was getting to meet professionals who have pursued career paths similar to what many of us have been considering. We appreciated being exposed to the wide variety of paths that exist in the outdoor industry, and figuring out which of those seemed most appealing to us. Furthermore, the ideas presented in the presentations were directly applicable to Westminster’s Outdoor Program. The knowledge we have gained will help us to improve the quality and experience the Outdoor Program offers.

-Outdoor Leaders Group (Brett Carroll, Tyler Price, Zoe Zulaf, Katherine Dalrymple, Nathan Maples, and Graham Archer)

2014 Investor Event at Santa Clara University

I was given the opportunity to travel down to California and present to an audience of investors at Santa Clara University. I presented on a course that my peers and I made in hopes of getting funding for a clinic we plan to build in Uganda. I learned that each investor has different interests and that fundraising methods change based on the individual. The experience expanded my knowledge of raising money and public awareness. I will apply the skill I learned to my next fundraising event.

-Brolin Mawejje