Alverno student honored as 2017 Newman Civic Fellow

March 31, 2017

Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has announced the 273 students who will make up the organization's 2017 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows, including Alverno College's own Katherine Watson.

Watson, a first-year student majoring in Community Leadership and Development, is an active leader dedicated to advocating for people who are marginalized in society. Before coming to Alverno, she was actively involved in social justice issues, volunteering at the Salvation Army and her local food pantry, collecting and distributing school supplies, and serving as a peer tutor. Once she started attending Alverno, Watson quickly became involved in a number of campus initiatives including working with Campus Ministry, volunteering at St. Ben's meal program, and becoming an active member of Alverno's Gay Straight Alliance and RAISE, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of homelessness in the community.

As a 2017 Newman Civic Fellow, Watson will be a part of the first cohort to benefit from a completely re-designed fellowship. The Newman Civic Fellowship, named for Campus Compact co-founder Frank Newman, is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional, and civic growth. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

“The cultivation of community-committed leaders has never been more crucial,” said Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn. “We rebuilt the Newman Civic Fellowship experience because our country needs more people who know how to bring communities together for positive change. We are thrilled to welcome this group of 273 exemplary students as the first cohort to participate in this new model.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship is supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman's Own Foundation.

About Campus Compact

Campus Compact is a nonprofit coalition of more than 1,000 colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. As the only national association dedicated to this mission, Campus Compact is a leader in building community engagement into campus and academic life. For more information, visit www.compact.org and follow @Campus_Compact on Twitter.