Cottey Student Named 2017 Newman Civic Fellow

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 Cottey College’s own Christi-Anne Beatty.

Beatty, a second-year student from Lakeside Park, Kentucky, has a passion for diversity awareness and intercultural understanding reflected through her service, leadership and engagement in the community. This compassion led her to serve with the Alliance for Immigrant Women; listening and translating immigrant stories from Somali participants. Additionally, she prepares and serves traditional Somali dishes at the annual Cottey College Multi-Cultural Festival. Beatty fosters cultural understanding among rural, elementary students through the service-learning program, STOMP (Students That Open Minds to Possibilities) and by volunteering as a summer reading program assistant with the Kenton County Public Library. She cultivates awareness by teaching basic American Sign Language to area Girl Scouts and providing dinner services to children at the Buenger Boy’s and Girl’s Club as a volunteer.

During the past two years, Beatty has assisted with the planning of the Community Chapel Service as part of MLK Day of Service activities, as well as participated in MLK Day of Service projects. Through her desire to increase cultural awareness and understanding, she has been influential as a student leader with the Cross Generational Sharing Project, a campus/community partnership to reduce isolation and depression among residents of senior care facilities.

As a 2017 Newman Civic Fellow, Beatty 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.
Campus Compact is a nonprofit coalition of more than 1000 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.