Baruch College Student Awarded a Venture For America Fellowship

May 13, 2021

Baruch College student Chelsea Wepy (’21), who will be receiving a BBA in entrepreneurial management from the Zicklin School of Business with a double minor in environmental sustainability and Spanish from the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, is a recipient of a Venture For America (VFA) Fellowship.

The mission of VFA is to “create economic opportunity in American cities by mobilizing the next generation of entrepreneurs and equipping them with the skills and resources they need to create jobs.” Following an arduous application process, VFA connects recent college graduates selected across the country with two-year jobs in startups, entrepreneurship-adjacent organizations, and early-stage companies across 14 cities in the U.S.

“The hardest part of this application process is Selection Day where potential Fellows spend an entire day completing group activities, group interviews, and networking with current and past fellows,” Wepy said. “At that point, you have already made so many amazing connections and feel as though you are a part of the Fellow community, but you have not yet been selected.

“When I received a phone call from an unknown number while sitting on my couch in Brooklyn, I knew it had to be Venture For America and I could not believe I was selected after such a rigorous month of applying.”

Wepy is the seventh Baruch College student to earn a VFA Fellowship.

Passionate About Climate Change Mitigation

Wepy was inspired to apply for the VFA Fellowship after working at a start-up whiskey distillery in Brooklyn during her first-year and sophomore years at Baruch. With her Fellowship, she is seeking a role in project management within the environmental sustainability industry.

“The constant problem solving, fast-paced nature, and outlet for creativity all showed me that the start-up environment is where I was meant to be,” Wepy stated. “My passion lies in climate change mitigation, and I’m most interested in landing a role in Miami or New Orleans since they are both coastal cities very vulnerable to climate change impacts.”

Wepy was among the first cohort of students who participated in Baruch College’s Climate Scholars Program, which explored a wide range of cross-disciplinary climate issues including mitigation, impacts, and resiliency within the contexts of the natural sciences, psychology, business, economics, public policy, migration, and communication.

In the future, Wepy is looking to become a difference maker within the entrepreneurship-environment nexus.

“I hope to use what I have learned throughout my educational journey in entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability, as well as the hands-on skills that I hope to learn through my Venture For America Fellowship, to open my own business after completing the program,” Wepy said. “I would like to create a start-up that focuses on climate change mitigation through environmental action.”

Advising Support for Students Awards

Baruch College’s Office of National & Prestigious Fellowships Advising helps students through the essential steps of applying for fellowships and scholarships, including writing proposals. In addition to the VFA fellowship, Baruch students have received in recent years Fulbright awards, Critical Language scholarships, Jeannette K. Watson fellowships, Freeman-ASIA scholarships, among others.

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