suttonp

I got the following response back from Brandon regarding honorable mentions: "We plan to have decisions made by the end of this month for the new 2013 STAR Fellowships. We are still considering the 'honorable mention' letter or some version of that as a new policy. Still in the hands of the decision makers."

I should have mentioned I brought this idea of an honorable mention (non-monetary) award up with Brandon last year. This was his response. "Your suggestion is a good one. It is something the EPA has never done before and would require some discussion as to how and potential impacts if any. I will talk to my management about it..." @ekpfeil, I think your perspective is very kind and humble, but you may be misunderstanding the nature of my original post. I'm encouraging others to email Brandon to provide feedback, which can help to inform the EPA's decision process. There is no need for debate - I have nothing to disagree about

I agree, it appears right now that they are looking for the fastest/easiest solution to move forward. That doesn't mean it's the right thing to do, and I don't think they're doing it out of necessity. They should complete the entire review process from where they left off, and make adjustments for the final monetary and non-monetary (i.e., recognition) awards as necessary. I committed over 100 hours preparing my application, as I'm sure many of the remaining applicants did. To take a survey and then never hear from the EPA again after all our efforts would be disrespectful. Don't be discouraged to speak up if you're in a similar situation, you deserve to be heard. Contact Brandon and let him know your concerns.

I'm no longer eligible for funding, but I'm surprised to be excluded from the most recent email update. I've waited so long to find out if my proposal was considered worthy of funding... after all the effort and waiting, I would like a conclusion of some sort. I've emailed Brandon requesting (once again) that they consider non-monetary awards to applicants who are no longer eligible but otherwise would have been awarded funding. I believe successful applicants deserve recognition. While certainly not as good as receiving actual funding, a non-monetary award would help to build a resume. I encourage other non-eligible applicants to contact Brandon with similar requests if you agree.