University of La Verne Student Selected for National Civic Engagement Program

A national higher education association has selected senior political science and international studies major Mariela Martinez as one of the first students for the new Principal Community Scholars Program.

Campus Compact – a coalition of nearly 1,100 colleges and universities – selected 20 college students from California and Iowa for the program, which requires participants to lead a community-engaged project on their campus. Students who successfully complete the program are eligible for a $1,000 scholarship.

For her project – called “Speak, Listen, and Know” – Martinez has been working with departments and groups on campus, as well as community-based organizations, to organize four week-long events surrounding identity awareness and diversity. The four events focus on interfaith groups, LGBTQ, migrants, and various ethnicities.

“This project will focus on counteracting negative misconceptions, stereotypes and unknowns with opportunities for understanding and civil discourse through the development identity awareness weeks,” she described in a summary of the project.

Other students selected for the program have taken on projects to impact areas such as education and environmental sustainability.

Campus Compact officials said the program serves as a resource for creating, educating, and promoting civic engagement.

“Students will receive help finding new ways to get involved on campus and will learn how to translate this work into skills for their careers,” the organization wrote on its website.