[Skip to Content]

2024 Young Professional Fellowships

Check back for more details about the 2025 NRPA Awards.
Get A Reminder about the 2025 Nomination Period

The fellowship provides selected young professionals (up to 4) with the opportunity to explore the operation of NRPA and its governing bodies at the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference. Participants will meet with mentors, be recognized at the awards ceremony and attend various conference sessions and meetings. A primary focus of the program is to inspire future participation and leadership in NRPA and to develop professional contacts. Registration for the Conference will be complimentary for recipients and a travel/hotel stipend will be provided.

The nomination deadline is March 29, 2024.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Current NRPA member
  • Currently employed in parks and recreation
  • Two or more years of experience in the field, but not to exceed ten years
  • 35 years or younger at time of the conference
  • Must attend the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia October 8-10, 2024
  • May only apply for one fellowship or one scholarship per year
  • Prior Young Professional Fellowship or Diversity Scholarship recipients are not eligible


Application Materials:

  • Answers to the questions provided in the application form
  • Short essay responses (no more than 250 words for each) to the following questions:
    • Provide an example of an educational experience (conference, class, etc.) that you have had. What have you done or implemented based on what you learned?
    • Describe your passion for the park and recreation field. Please include examples illustrating your initiative, ambition, and commitment in your park and recreation career.
    • List any specific contributions you have made to advance the parks and recreation field at a local, regional, state or national level.
    • Describe any special honors, awards, recognition you have received or leadership roles you have held.
  • A resume including work, education and volunteer experiences
  • Two letters of reference from individuals familiar with your job performance


    Application Instructions:

    • All applications must be received by NRPA no later than 11:59 p.m. EST on March 29, 2024.
    • Applicant may only use this official application form.
    • Applicants must have or create an NRPA login account to complete an application.
    • All supporting materials must be submitted electronically in either Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.
    • Application is automatically disqualified if it does not meet criteria or submission instructions.
    • This format has a save and continue feature that is located at the bottom of the question pages.


    Terms and Conditions:

    • NRPA reserves the right to disqualify an application if in NRPA’s sole discretion it determines that the application does not contain truthful information, is contrary to the standards or policies of NRPA, or violates applicable laws, or if the nominee acted contrary to the standards or policies of NRPA, or violated applicable law or could reflect negatively on NRPA.
    • NRPA reserves the right to revoke any award or prize if in NRPA’s sole discretion it determines that the awardee acted contrary to the standards or policies of NRPA or acted in violation of applicable laws or could reflect negatively on NRPA.

    For more information, contact the NRPA Awards Program at awards@nrpa.org.

    Apply Today

    Share