Hi Anna- What a treat to see that there are still people reading my blog. Thanks! I was beginning to wonder if all of my thoughts were just floating out there unnoticed in cyberspace. Enough about that...on to your question. I would HIGHLY recommend applying for the Maternal and Child Health Leadership Development Program. Not only is it nice to have the generous financial support it provides, but it also is an incredible learning experience. From creating the minimester event to writing a mock grant proposal with the other scholars to the professional presentation you have to give...it's all really practical, useful experience to have. I'm actually working on the powerpoint presentation this weekend, and will be giving it on Monday afternoon. So to answer your question "is it worth doing?"--most definitely, yes. Incredibly worth doing. Your question about the time commitment it requires---pretty considerable actually. There's a weekly meeting, and a lot of work that needs to be done in preparation for the minimester event and related community service projects. But I enjoy the challenges that it's brought to my second year...I enjoy the collaborative efforts it entails with the other scholars, and I really am so grateful to have been selected. Back to your question....it does involve both semesters, and no, the work is not done after the minimester because we're still in charge of getting the community service projects off the ground. I anticipate that once those things are out of the way, we'll slow down a bit. But again, I'd say that the hard work is well worth it. I don't know about you, but I can have a really difficult time with group projects- the frustrating and inevitable imbalance of effort/work/concern etc among group members, but this experience has been the antithesis of that. The other scholars are remarkably capable, smart, driven, focused, creative, the list could go on. I trust their work completely and I enjoy the time I spend with them. To put it simply, being a Maternal and Child Health scholar has been the pinnacle of my graduate school career. I support you wholeheartedly in applying. You should check out the website (if you haven't already) http://cmchswe.umaryland.edu/mch_leadership_development_program/, and may even want to schedule a time to speak with Dr. Pecukonis, the program's Director. I'd be happy to meet with you at some point too to discuss it further if you like. Good luck! Keep me posted!