Diana Gonzalez Gonzalez recognized for commitment to solving public problems
Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has announced the 290 students who will make up the organization’s 2021-2022 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. Diana Gonzalez Gonzalez, a student at Adams State University, will join 212 students from 39 states, Washington, D.C., and Mexico to form the 2021 cohort.
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.
Diana Gonzalez, Class of 2022, is a first-generation student, farmworker, a political science major/Spanish minor, and a graduate from Alamosa High School. Gonzalez addresses issues of just pathways to citizenship and language justice within her community. A bilingual daughter of immigrant farmworkers, she understands many of the inequities faced by those who are not born in the U.S., who work in the fields and warehouses to feed the nation, and whose first language is not English. She seeks to bring a greater cultural awareness and opportunity to the campus and local community through her work with the Spanish Club, College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), and the Sacred Heart Church. She teaches religion to the Spanish and Q’anjob’al speaking members of her church in their native language, provides tutoring in Spanish for CAMP student in various subject areas, and continues to provide culturally relevant programming during the pandemic. Citizenship carries double meaning for Gonzalez, as she strives to be a responsible and equitable member of society and prepare herself to support others in their pursuit of a legal status in the United States.
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.
Jasmine Camponeschi, Adams State University CAMP project director, is proud to have Gonzalez as part of the CAMP team as a scholar, mentor, and tutor. “Diana dreams big, but ever so quietly. Her smile is warm and tells you that she will be there for you, but pushes you to do your best at the same time. She advocates for her fellow CAMP students, honors her culture and language, and hopes one day to serve the immigrant population on a professional level. I know she will rise high in life, giving her all for her family and her community.”
Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides Fellows with a variety of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional, and civic growth. Each year, 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 fellows with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.
“We are proud to recognize these extraordinary student leaders and thrilled to engage with them,” said Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn. “The experience of the last year has driven home to all of us that we need open-minded, innovative, public-spirited thinkers and doers. That is what Campus Compact is about, and the stories of our Newman Civic Fellows demonstrate it’s who they are.”
Learn more at Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellowship. You can read more about each of the student leaders selected for this year’s cohort at 2021 Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellows.
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.
