Page 243 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

BECOMING A WHITE HOUSE FELLOW

old-fashioned approach to selecting the Fellows was certainly a function of
the times and could be classified as quaint today. Although the commis-
sioners’ spouses no longer play an official role in the selection process, every
year since the program’s inception the final selection of the White House
Fellows has been done during an intense three-day weekend retreat.
But first things first. The process of becoming a White House Fellow
begins as most things related to government do—with filling out a form.
However, this is no ordinary form. Tom Veblen (WHF 65–66) called the
White House Fellows paperwork “the mother of all application forms”and
said that simply looking at the packet told him that becoming a Fellow
would be arduous.
“What, the commission wanted to know, had I been doing with
my life? To paraphrase, they requested that I provide—completely and
accurately—the particulars of my existence, including the exact time and
address for every place I’d lived and the name, address, and telephone num-
ber of every individual who had influenced my life, or so it seemed,” Veblen
recalled. “They wanted details on my education and honors and my
extracurricular activities. They required essays on the sources of my enthu-
siasms as well as the particulars of my hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Then,
to smoke out the reality of all this, I was to give the name, title, address,
and telephone number of five persons—no relatives, please—who would
not only vouch for me but also write a letter and complete an exhaustive
form detailing their views on my character, competence, and potential.”

Despite the grueling application, Veblen, who at that time was a young cor-
porate vice president of Cargill Inc., buckled down, filled out the form,
and sent it in. He thought it might be fun to test President Johnson’s claim
that the White House Fellowship selection was a nonpartisan contest in
light of the fact that he was a conservative Goldwater supporter.
Little did he know that he had played straight into LBJ’s hands.

THE APPLICATION
The first step in applying for a White House Fellowship is to conduct a
serious gut check. This is not an application for the fainthearted or for those
with a short attention span. It contains an extensive series of questions and
requirements designed to assess the applicant’s level of achievement, lead-
ership potential, and commitment to public service. It also lays the

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