Scholars Become the Leaders We Need

WHO ARE BEZOS SCHOLARS?

Bezos Scholars are united by a shared passion for making a difference and a desire to lead change. Scholars seek new challenges and respond with creativity, courage, and commitment. They join the program with different lived experiences, strengths, areas for growth, and unique interests. This diversity is one of our greatest strengths.

Our Scholars travel from across the U.S. and the Africa Leadership Academy to spend a week immersed in learning at the Aspen Ideas Festival and return home to inspire action in their schools, communities, and beyond.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

Throughout the year-long program, we aim to build capacities in values-based leadership, social-emotional learning, and social innovation. We’ve aligned outcomes for the program with the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership, a quantitative research program that examines how to leverage learning and development inside and outside of traditional classrooms.

The beauty of the Bezos Scholars Program lies in its use of evidence-based practices: robust curricula, leadership skill building for students, advocacy development for educators, and community engagement to create a powerful learning experience. Impact assessments demonstrate that after the year-long program, Student Scholars yield equivalent or higher learning gains across critical leadership and socio-emotional outcomes than their peers did after a full year of college.

We aim for Student Scholars to make meaningful gains in these leadership outcomes:

• Sense of Belonging—The Degree to which Students and Educators feel a sense of affiliation and connection to the Bezos Scholars Program and are able to instill a sense of belonging with others.
• Leadership Efficacy—Internal beliefs Students hold about likelihood of success when engaging in leadership processes.
• Agency—Ability to start and sustain goal-directed efforts.
• Resilience—Ability to persist in the midst of adversity and positively cope with stress.
• Search for Purpose—Meaning-making grounded in the exploration of life’s deeper purpose.
• Collaboration—Desire and ability to work effectively with others in group processes.
• Navigating Pathways—Ability to envision multiple pathways to achieve goals.
• Civic Impact—Taking actions to leave a legacy and enhance the community beyond yourself.

For Educator Scholars, a majority report that the year-long program becomes a memorable and meaningful experience that deepens and/or reignites their passion and commitment to their field. In their role as mentors, advocates, and allies to Student Scholars, we aim for Educator Scholars to make meaningful gains in the following:

• Sense of Belonging—The Degree to which Educators and Students feel a sense of affiliation and connection to the Bezos Scholars Program and have the ability to instill a sense of belonging with others.
• Student Advocacy—Educator’s ability to support, amplify, and encourage the development of student voices, ideas, and actions.
• Student Leadership Efficacy—Educator’s ability to foster a student’s belief in the likelihood of their success when engaging in leadership processes.
• Student Agency—Educator’s ability to help student start and sustain a goal-directed effort.
• Student Resilience—Educator’s ability to support students with their capacity to persist in the midst of adversity and positively cope with stress.
• Student Search for Purpose—Educator’s ability to support students in meaning-making grounded in the exploration of life’s deeper purpose.
• Student Leadership Skill-Building—Educator’s ability to support the development of a student’s leadership, organization, and project management skills such as:
  • Goal setting
  • Collaboration
  • Cohesive team building
  • Creative problem solving: The ability to foster “possibility thinking” into new and useful ideas
  • Navigating pathways to achieve one’s goals

• Student Civic Impact—Educator’s ability to foster a student’s belief in the importance of community engagement and desire to leave a legacy of impact that benefits others.

Cultivating Big Ideas

ASPEN IDEAS FESTIVAL

The Aspen Ideas Festival in Aspen, Colorado is an eye-opening experience for Scholars and their educators. Few such events allow young people to engage directly with global thought leaders—from scientists and artists to policy makers and activists. The week is filled with hands-on leadership skill-building, Socratic seminars led by acclaimed moderators, and bonding with fellow Scholars.