Aliento Fellowships

Arizona’s Future Fellowship is a transformative leadership development program for youth directly impacted by immigration. Coming from schools across the valley, fellows work within their schools to practice self-advocacy skills and implement the organizing principles they learn during their monthly cohort trainings. Fellows work towards making their schools and their communities more equitable and inclusive by leading within ALIENTO's campaigns. Our fellows are provided with weekly 1:1 coaching with ALIENTO's experienced team!

The time has come! We are happy to announce that we are now looking to invest in the leadership and growth of the next youth cohort. Aliento is looking for fellows to join our Arizona’s Future Fellowship. This year’s fellowship cohort will focus on advocating for education and immigrant rights.  If you are passionate about working on galvanizing support for Dreamers and mixed-status families in Arizona and nationwide, we highly encourage you to apply!

Timeline 🗓️

  • Fellowship Application Launch:

    Monday, April 14, 2025

  • Priority Deadline:

    Sunday, June 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM MST

  • Application Decisions:

    Thursday, July 31, 2025

  • Fellowship Mandatory Orientation:

    Thursday, August 14, 2025

Requirements

Criteria

  • Be enrolled in an Arizona high school, community college, or university. You must plan to be enrolled in school through the 2025-2026 school year.

  • Preferred but not required to have attended at least 3 Aliento events.

  • Can commit at least 10 hours a week during a 10-month period.

    • The fellowship will run from August through May.

  • Applicants desire to engage with diverse communities to accomplish a common goal: improving the quality of life for all Arizonans and deepening understanding about immigrants.

  • Complete the application requirements and submit them by the designated deadline.

    • With an up to 3-minute video (see below for more details).

  • Based on our organizational values, we highly encourage DACA recipients or individuals who live(d) in mixed-status families to apply.

Role & Responsibilities

  • Plan + execute a minimum of 3 creative events on campus to inform, advocate, or support access to higher education, mental health, and issues impacting students of different immigration backgrounds.

    *You will be trained and guided on how to lead each of your events*

    • One event must be an Aliento resources event.

    • One event must be awareness of an education/immigration issue.

    • One event must be a mental health & art event.

  • Recruit and form a team of students on campus to bring to the Arizona State Capitol for Education Day.

  • Must commit to attend the Training for Education Day and Education Day

  • Recruit and/or maintain at least one relationship with a school staff member (i.e., faculty, teacher, counselor). 

  • Commit to building a team on campus. 

  • Must commit to attending monthly Saturday cohort meetings. 

  • All events must be attended in person. We will provide transportation support for fellows outside of Maricopa County.

    * Failure to fulfill roles and responsibilities will result in discontinuation of the fellowship *

Fellows Award, Support, and Requirements   

  • Each fellow will receive a stipend of up to $4,000, depending on the completion of the desired deliverables.

  • Fellows will have access to at least 10 cohort leadership development opportunities.

  • Fellows will join a growing network of young leaders invested in social impact.

  • Fellows will attend biweekly one-on-one check-in meetings with their assigned supervisor/coach and monthly cohort meetings.

Timeline

  • Decisions will be sent out by Thursday, July 31, 2025

  • Fellows Mandatory Orientation on Thursday, August 14, 2025, 6:00-8:00 PM in Phoenix, AZ

  • Fellows Celebration: May 2026 (Date TBD) 

  • Must commit to mandatory monthly meetings. The schedule will be provided during orientation day.  

If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to info@alientoaz.org

 ‘24-’25 Arizona’s Future Fellows

  • Karen Velazquez Munoz

    Grand Canyon University

  • Victor Mendez

    Brophy College Preparatory

  • Fatima Villalpa

    NFL Yet College Prep

  • Renata Herrera Marquez

    Mountain View High School

  • Jose Luis Avila III

    Brophy College Preparatory

  • Oselem Amachree

    Arizona State University

  • Joaquin Vera

    Camelback High School

  • Naioby Sarabia

    ASU Prep Downtown

  • Emily Sotelo Estrada

    Arizona State University

  • Theresa Estrada

    Phoenix College

  • Emily Salgado

    Bioscience High School

  • Giselle Piña Gómez

    Mesa High School

  • Fatima Lopez Gutierrez

    Arizona State University

  • Hector J. Hernandez Garcia

    Grand Canyon University