Division of Student Affairs
Center for Multicultural Equity and Access
Center for Multicultural Equity and Access

Patrick Healy Fellowship Program

The Patrick Healy Fellowship (PHF) is a community of dynamic leaders who share a passion for addressing issues that affect marginalized communities through a commitment to community engagement, professional development, and alumni mentorship.

The Fellowship is guided by six pillars: Fellowship, Mentorship, Education, Community Engagement, Leadership Development, and Alumni Development.

Aspiring fellows are high-achieving and dynamic undergraduate students at Georgetown University dedicated to making their communities and the world, a more inclusive place. Each year, Fellows are encouraged to bring their own interests, skills, and passions to the table, and invest in projects that embody the ideals of the Fellowship in new and more personal ways. Fellows accomplish their goals not only with the help of each other but also with the support of mentors in the form of past graduates and friends of the Fellowship.

History of PHF

Started in 1997 by six Georgetown undergraduate students, the Fellowship program now boasts an alumni base of over 125 Georgetown alumni, as well as numerous friends of the Fellowship. Collectively, these individuals represent a broad array of backgrounds and interests, and the industries in which they currently work are just as varied. They continue to use their successes, both personal and professional, to promote the core values of the Fellowship program in their work in communities and institutions beyond Georgetown’s gates.

Since 2020, the Patrick Healy Fellowship Board has paused on-campus programming and the induction of a new class of Fellows. During this time, the PHF Board has been actively working with Georgetown University stakeholders and an external consultant to update the organization’s by-laws and application processes; engaging alumni on how to make the program more responsive to the needs of current undergraduate students; and making programmatic updates that honor the original goals of the Fellowship’s founders to support student leaders.

PHF is excited to be relaunching campus programming in 2025. A new application cycle launches Monday, February 3, 2025, and the Fellowship will admit eligible candidates Spring 2025.  

PHF Pillars

The Patrick Healy Fellowship Program is composed of six guiding principles, or pillars, which serve as the foundation upon which the program is built: fellowship, mentorship, community engagement, education, leadership development, and alumni development.

All programming, events, and educational opportunities sponsored by the Fellows, tie back to one or more of the guiding pillars.

Through regular interaction with each other, the Fellows are afforded the opportunity to collaborate with a group of exceptional student leaders of different backgrounds from the time they are selected as sophomores. Fellows share a commitment to academic excellence, a desire to create a better Georgetown and a passion for addressing issues affecting the university and beyond, with a particular concern for marginalized communities. Current and prior participants have indicated relationships developed through the program are not only strong, they are transformative.

Fellowship continues for life, as alumni of the Patrick Healy Fellowship Program maintain those relationships and build new relationships within PHF, enriching connections to one another and continuing to strengthen their bonds to Georgetown.

Each Fellow is mentored by one or more Georgetown graduates, typically alumni who are active in the field or fields in which the Fellow has particular career interests. These relationships offer Fellows insight into potential career opportunities and investments in personal development and growth. Furthermore, mentors are often instrumental in assisting Fellows with internships, graduate school, and job searches. Mentors, as former Fellows and/or Georgetown alumni, also offer insight into the Georgetown campus life experience, as well as advice and guidance. Although each Fellow has an assigned mentor, all alumni who are a part of the Fellowship are available to provide mentorship to any of the Fellows.


From an alumni perspective, the program asks that mentors keep in consistent contact with their mentee (offering career or other advice when needed), make an effort to attend program events during each school year and assist the program either organizationally, financially, or both.

The PHF program provides Fellows with opportunities to enrich and enhance their Georgetown experience, specifically focusing on topics of interest to marginalized communities. We do so by providing opportunities for the students to participate, without expense, in: (i) seminars with Georgetown professors to discuss books, films, or other topics, particularly those of interest to marginalized communities; (ii) discussions with Georgetown University stakeholders; and (iii) opportunities to attend cultural programming in the Washington, D.C. area (such as theatrical or musical performances, or museum exhibitions).

Fellows are expected to be leaders in their communities, within Georgetown and/or the broader Washington, D.C. community. Fellows are brought together through a spirit of service and a commitment to issues that impact marginalized communities, at Georgetown and beyond. Being a Fellow also allows students to become involved in each others’ projects and offers students an incubator to explore initiating new projects that address a need in our community.

As part of their participation in the program, the Fellows partake in programs and opportunities to grow their leadership skills and prepare for life after Georgetown. In partnership with PHF alumni, Fellows plan and partake in professional development opportunities to explore new industries and career paths, be exposed to different definitions of what success in life looks like, and gain the tools to direct their own path to success.

The Fellowship also offers other opportunities for Leadership Development, primarily through two bodies: the Recent Alumni Council, which offers recent PHF alumni the opportunity to give back to the Fellowship and support the undergraduate Fellows in their journey; and through the Board of Directors, which provides strategic direction and financial stewardship for the Fellowship.

In addition to mentoring current Fellows, PHF alumni are encouraged to maintain a connection with each other, across all graduating classes.  PHF offers multiple opportunities, both in person and virtual, for alumni to reconnect, share updates and individual successes, and support each other. PHF is also driving other opportunities for alumni to connect through an annual Homecoming Brunch, regional alumni chapters, programs that celebrate alumni Fellows’ professional success milestones, and more.

Father Healy

Patrick Healy was born in 1834, to a mother who was both black and a slave. Ordained as a Jesuit priest, Father Healy served as Georgetown University’s prefect of studies from 1868 to 1878. Furthermore, Father Healy served as the university’s president from 1873 to 1881, becoming the first African-American president of a predominantly white university.

His accomplishments included: reforming the curriculum, including mandating courses in the sciences; overseeing construction of a multi-use building which now bears his name; expanding programs in medicine and law; and the foundation of an alumni association. Father Healy died in 1910, and although he was never able to acknowledge his African-American roots during his tenure, his presidency is considered groundbreaking.

Read more about Father Healy

Our Board

The Patrick Healy Fellows program operates under the oversight of a Board of Directors, who are charged with a fiduciary responsibility to advance the Six Pillars and serve the Fellows, Alumni, and Georgetown University. The PHF Board meets monthly to discuss the fellowship programming, pillars, and other business. Board members serve for two consecutive years and can serve a total of three consecutive terms.

The Patrick Healy Fellowship is housed in the Center for Multicultural Equity & Access. A CMEA professional staff member and the Recent Alumni Council (RAC) serve as Advisors for PHF. They are responsible for overseeing the annual budget, meeting with Fellows, providing mentorship and guidance, and leading different programs (such as the Alumni Weekend).

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