The Ford School of Public Policy recognizes Megan Connors (MPP ‘26) as the 2023 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellow. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellowship is awarded to one of the most exceptional Ford School applicants each year, chosen for their commitment to bipartisan cooperation and civility, engagement in community service, and intention to pursue a career in the public sector. Connors will receive full tuition and a stipend to pursue unpaid professional experiences and leadership roles in student organizations.
Megan Connors (MPP ‘26) has seven years of experience teaching history and geography at a public high school in Brooklyn, New York. As an educator, Connors worked to improve academic outcomes for students from a wide range of demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, and was instrumental to developing her school’s Advanced Placement Human Geography program. She also conducted research and created curricular resources for New York City’s AP for All Initiative, which increased advanced placement course access and achievement for low-income and minority students. Prior to teaching, Connors received her master’s in teaching of social studies from Teachers College, Columbia University and her BA in public policy with a minor in history from Stanford University, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. While at the Ford School, Connors is excited to expand the breadth and depth of her social policy knowledge, and develop skills in quantitative analysis so that she can help create policies that will support teachers and make it easier for all students to come to school ready to learn.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Fellowship is an endowed fellowship given to the Ford School’s most exceptional applicants who exemplify President Ford’s commitment to bipartisan cooperation and civility, community, and public sector service. Fellows have gone on to build their own legacies and serve our state and nation by analyzing issues creatively and objectively, identifying actionable policy solutions, and building bipartisan consensus.