Events & Training Topics

Civically Engaged Student Webinar Series 

 

This webinar series features civically engaged student leaders representing campuses within the NC Campus Engagement network. Now more than ever, young leaders are needed to address the pressing issues facing our nation and world. During odd-numbered years, this series highlights students who work with outstanding community/civic engagement programs, projects, and research.  

Civically Engaged Student Webinar Series – Spring 2025

Build civic and community engagement skills and explore impactful initiatives led by students on college campuses around the state! Learn from student leaders championing these programs, and get inspired to take the lead.

Register for the Series

March 5

“Improving Civic Life at Greensboro College” (Model Program: Civic Education & Leadership)

Featuring: Xypher Pino, Junior, Greensboro College

Xypher Pino is a 2024-25 North Carolina Campus Engagement Civic Impact Fellow. This presentation will feature current outcomes of his Fellowship Impact Project, which aims to improve the overall civic life of Greensboro College by implementing programs that provide a platform for civically passionate students to engage. Xypher will share how he is achieving a stronger civic life on campus through the addition of a civic workshop during mandatory classes for first-year students, the redesigning and reestablishment of civic projects, and the creation of a civic leadership program for select students. Then, he will offer insights and recommendations for other campuses interested in implementing similar initiatives! 

March 12

“See Something, Say Something: Your Voice, Your Power, Our Change” (Skill-Building: Advocacy)

Featuring TJ Hill-Johnson, William Peace University

This presentation highlights the critical role of individuals in recognizing and speaking out against harmful actions or injustices in their communities. It emphasizes the power of advocacy in creating positive change, fostering safer environments, and empowering voices that might otherwise go unheard. By examining real-world examples, the presentation underscores how simple acts of awareness and intervention can prevent harm, protect vulnerable individuals, and strengthen collective responsibility. It encourages participants to understand the importance of speaking up and advocating for justice, safety, and equality.

March 19

“Finding your Civic Engagement Fit” (Skill-Building: Identifying Civic Engagement Passions)

Featuring Zainab Adamou-Mohamed

More than ever, building community is crucial. Elections are one way we can express ourselves and make decisions for our community, but what can we do between elections? Finding ways to engage with the causes and organizations you care about can provide a space for community-building and action no matter what time of the year it is. This presentation will introduce you to the different types of civic engagement, help you identify your passions and interests, and introduce ways to find engagement opportunities. We will also look at one example of service-based civic engagement through a brief case study of the Catalyst Program at UNC Greensboro.

March 26

Dual Session: How Women in STEM Can Inspire and Educate Communities & Forming the Next Generation of Public Health Leaders (Knowledge-Building: Civic Engagement & STEM)

Featuring Aynsley Szczesniak & Jailah Lytch, UNC-Chapel Hill ; Christopher Dietrich & Reagan Smith, Wake Forest University

How Women in STEM Can Inspire and Educate Communities: Speak Out Sisterhood is a global nonprofit elevating young professional women in STEM to address the most pressing barriers to women’s career advancement. Our Generation YES Internship program empowers college women to develop, pitch, and prototype social impact projects that tackle systemic challenges in STEM alongside partner organizations. For example, the Science Policy Action Network has been an SOS partner since our very first internship program cohort in February 2024. Intern teams have worked with SPAN to research prenatal and postnatal care in rural North Carolina, federal and state legislative policies to support women in the workplace, and stigmas and stereotypes still faced by women in STEM. Our presentation will showcase how working directly with major organizations for civic engagement and community development has empowered the college women in our program to develop skills of self-advocacy, negotiation, public speaking, creativity, and entrepreneurial thinking that are crucial for career success.
Forming the Next Generation of Public Health Leaders: This presentation highlights the critical role of student engagement in public health philanthropy and its impact on shaping future healthcare leaders. Drawing from our experiences serving at various non-profits in our community, we will discuss how hands-on involvement deepens understanding of public health challenges and solutions. Programs like Public Health AmeriCorps help break socio-economic barriers to healthcare, ensuring patients receive comprehensive support beyond medical treatment. For students pursuing healthcare careers, these experiences provide a unique perspective on social determinants of health, transforming public health from a theoretical concept into actionable change. Attendees will learn about the importance of these programs in their own communities or universities, fostering a new generation of public health advocates.

Civically Engaged Student Webinar Series – Spring 2023

The Civically Engaged Student Webinar Series began in 2023. Their presentations were accepted for presentation during the 2022 CSNAP Student Conference. When the conference was postponed until Fall 2023, NCCE invited them to share their presentations during this webinar series. 

Students Breaking Barriers From 1965 – 2022
March 29, 2023

This session included a discussion of barriers to voting in communities across North Carolina and how students can help to overcome them. View the playback of the session below. 

Kassidy McFeeley is a junior majoring in marketing, and a Bonner Leader at High Point University. Through the Bonner Leader Program she assists the City of High Point, developing promotional materials and webpages on urban agriculture and neighborhood associations and is a Site Coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. Kassidy is passionate about promoting civic responsibility and community engagement.

Jenny Ngo is a freshman majoring in biology at High Point University and a Bonner Leader. As a volunteer at the Community Clinic of High Point, Jenny helps with general office tasks such as patient phone calls, filing, medical record assembling, data entry, and special events. As a Bonner Leader, Jenny not only serves the community but also promotes racial equity and social justice on campus, and in the community outside of campus.

Big Stories, Bold Voices: Activism Redefined
April 5, 2023

This session focused on the power of storytelling to fuel student activism. The presenters helped attendees explore how their passions and lived experiences contribute to their strengths as an activist.  

Iyana Marie Beachem is a Junior at Fayetteville State University studying Race and Public Health with a minor in Chemistry. In her activism career, she has created Federal Policy for Child and Maternal rights and currently prioritizes student advocacy with her NAACP Initiative “It Belongs to Us”.

Aigné (on-yay) Taylor is a recent graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University with her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology where she graduated with highest honors, Summa Cum Laude. Throughout her matriculation at her institution, Taylor served and advocated in a plethora of ways. Taylor was a prominent student advocate spearheading voter engagement initiatives and creating a civic engagement culture on her college campus. She is an aspiring Medical Sociologist who eagerly seeks to make life easier for those around her. Taylor is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and lives by the quote from late Congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm “if they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring in a folding chair.”

Growing Up in the Grassroots
April 12, 2023

Joy shared stories from her book “Growing Up in the Grassroots: Finding Unity in Climate Activism Across Generations” and discussed lessons learned from advocating for climate justice with the Rachel Carson Council and invited participants to find and fine-tune their own “Why” story when it comes to science communication.

Joy Reeves is a is a first-year Master of Environmental Management student at Duke University specializing in Environmental Economics and Policy. Originally from Frederick, Maryland, she is a Presidential Fellow at the Rachel Carson Council, where she studies energy justice in North Carolina and how to creatively engage audiences and stakeholders with climate science. As a trained science communicator, cartoonist, and published author of Growing Up in the Grassroots (2020), Joy is excited to discuss the “art of activism” and all of its creative intersections. 

Wednesday, April 19 (6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.)
First on Scene

First on Scene is a two dimensional initiative to teach the community first-aid/ cpr and provide them with a resource to quickly refresh their knowledge. The resource, with the same name, is a digital phone app (created by Kirti) which includes education on how bystanders can intervene during medical emergencies as well as an interactive map to locate medical resources like AEDs near you. Most effective when combined, this initiative serves to empower the community to take action by removing the fear of not remembering the most appropriate ways to help during a medical emergency.

Kirti Patel is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying Nutrition and Economics. He has been an EMT for over 3 years, working through UNC’s EMS agency and local county service. Kirti’s love for education and medicine is what inspired him to teach a seminar about healthcare in media and more recently teaching cpr/ first-aid trainings at UNC. He hopes to eventually become a physician.