Texas Right to Life will host a week-long training program for college students who are returning Fellows in the Dr. Joseph Graham Fellowship for College Pro-Life Leaders. Recipients of the prestigious Pro-Life Fellowship are required to devote 50 hours per semester to Pro-Life activities on campus. Many Fellows are leaders in the Pro-Life clubs at their respective schools, and Fellows who attend a college or university without a Pro-Life club assist in forming one.
The annual summer training for returning Fellows, which runs this year from May 20-26, includes expert speakers on a range of Pro-Life issues including Pro-Life apologetics, assisted suicide, the history of abortion law in Texas, and the political strategy to overturn Roe v. Wade. The training will also include opportunities to develop leadership skills. The Fellows will plan their calendars for the fall semester and strategize how to expand the Culture of Life on their campuses.
Past and current Fellows have demonstrated their commitment to the principles of the Dr. Joseph Graham Fellowship through activism and volunteerism. Earlier this year, 19 Fellows attended the 45th Annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., in addition to local advocacy and political involvement. Several college groups led by Dr. Joseph Graham Fellows have established or expanded scholarship programs for pregnant and parenting students in recent years. Other Pro-Life outreach includes volunteering with local pregnancy resource centers and tabling to discuss Pro-Life issues with their peers.
In addition to the second-year returning Fellows attending a training, Texas Right to Life announced that 26 new students at colleges and universities in every corner of Texas will join the Fellowship for the 2018-2019 school year. Among this new class of Fellows, two new schools will be added to the program. This brings the total of universities in the Fellowship program to 30.
The Fellowship was renamed to honor the late founder and president of Texas Right to Life, Dr. Joseph Graham, who passed away in 2014. Dr. Graham was an educator who committed his life to the defense of innocent human Life, and the scholarship program is a fitting homage to his legacy. The tremendous success of the Fellowship has served as a model for college student programs in other states.
The training for returning Fellows this year will take place in Houston, Texas. Local Pro-Life advocates who would like to attend specific talks that are part of this year’s training are welcome to contact StudentCentral@TexasRightToLife.com for more information.