Alverno Student Honored as Newman Civic Fellow

Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has announced the 173 students who will make up the organization’s 2022-23 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. Litze Estrada, a student at Alverno College, will join 172 students from 38 states, Washington, D.C. and Mexico to form the new cohort. This is the sixth year in a row that an Alverno student has been named a Newman Civic Fellow; Katherine Watson was selected for the 2017 cohort, Alejandra Gonzalez was chosen for the 2018 cohort, Donna Lewis-Taylor was part of the 2019 cohort, Cassandra Abarca was selected for the 2020 cohort, and Vania Jurkiewicz was chosen for the 2021 cohort.

Estrada is a senior who is triple majoring in Global Studies, Women & Gender Studies and Spanish. She has volunteered with multiple organizations, including those ensuring young people and families have access to critical needs such as food, health care and education. She volunteers at a food bank in Chicago as well as for an organization providing financial support for children in Latin America. She also networks with students and alumnae who support organizations such as Voces de la Frontera, an organization dedicated to civil rights and workers’ rights in the Milwaukee community. On campus she is part of the Doherty Scholars program, in initiative for students who have demonstrated high academic achievement and a potential for strong scholarly accomplishment and curiosity. She was also part of the American Model United Nations (AMUN), where a staff member recognized her for producing two of the best position papers the organization received last year.

“Litze is a strong, accomplished student who regularly demonstrates her passion for justice, especially as it affects Latina women,” said Andrea Lee, IHM, Ph.D., president of Alverno College. “She has been committed to helping those who haven’t had the same opportunities she has, and her humility is what drives her to excellence.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship is a year-long program for students from Campus Compact member institutions. The students selected for the fellowship are leaders on their campuses who demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions for challenges facing communities locally, nationally and internationally.

The fellowship is named for the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who was a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. In the spirit of Dr. Newman’s leadership, Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors nominate student leaders from their campuses to be named Newman Civic Fellows.

Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides students with a variety of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional and civic growth. Fellows participate in numerous virtual training and networking opportunities to help provide them with the skills and connections they need to create large-scale positive change. The cornerstone of the fellowship is the Annual Convening of Fellows, which offers intensive skill-building and networking over the course of two days. The fellowship also provides students with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

“We are proud to name such an outstanding and diverse group of students Newman Civic Fellows,” said Campus Compact President Bobbie Laur. “Their passion and resolve to take action on the wide range of issues challenging our neighborhoods and communities is inspiring and deeply needed. We cannot wait to engage with them through this transformative experience.”

Learn more at compact.org/newman-civic-fellowship. You can read more about each of the student leaders selected for this year’s cohort at https://compact.org/newman-civic-fellowship/the-2022-2023-newman-civic-fellows/.

About Campus Compact

Campus Compact is a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. Campus Compact supports institutions in fulfilling their public purposes by deepening their ability to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility. As the largest national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement, we provide professional development to administrators and faculty to enable them to engage effectively, facilitate national partnerships connecting campuses with key issues in their local communities, build pilot programs to test and refine promising models in engaged teaching and scholarship, celebrate and cultivate student civic leadership, and convene higher education institutions and partners beyond higher education to share knowledge and develop collective capacity. Visit compact.org.