A massive effort by Orange County United Way to count the area’s homeless population in January was led in part by recent Chapman graduate Atty McLellan, who undertook the work as Chapman’s first recipient of a Shinnyo Fellowship.

The fellowship provides a paycheck and benefits for 10 months to a small group of recent college graduates, enabling them to work full time at a nonprofit of their choice. McLellan is working for United Way and was tasked with organizing more than 1,000 volunteers for the Point in Time Count.

“I am excited about this because an accurate count will be pivotal in understanding and solving homelessness in the county,” said McLellan, who became involved in outreach and research related to homelessness while at Chapman.

Funded by the Shinnyo-en Foundation, the fellowships seek to support the organization’s philosophy of peacebuilding through service to the recipients’ university campuses or immediate surrounding communities. As part of her fellowship year, McLellan also works part time at Chapman’s Center for Undergraduate Excellence.

Other recipients of the 2018 Shinnyo postgraduate fellowships are from Stanford, UC Berkeley, Seattle University and George Mason University.