Scholarships & Awards

Crimson & Gold Awards

CCESL honors outstanding students by nominating an undergraduate and graduate student in the following categories annually: Public Good Student of the Year, Service Student of the Year, and Community Organizer of the Year. These students are recognized through the university-wide Crimson & Gold Award Ceremony put on by the Office of Student Engagement.

  • Public Good Student of the Year

    This award honors a student who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to the public good by applying their knowledge and intellectual resources to enhance social capital and community development.

    • 2023 Winners:
      • Graduate: Jenna Wyatt, Environmental Policy & Managemen | Jackie Tran, Social Work
      • Undergraduate: Eli Zehe, Geography, Political Sciences, and Geographic Information Sciences
    • 2022 Winners:
      • Graduate: Jessica Villena Sanchez
      • Undergraduate: Brandon T
    • 2021 Winners:
      • Graduate: Mandeep Karki
      • Undergraduate: Kelly Bonk  
    • 2020 Winners:
      • Graduate: Farduus Ahmed
      • Undergraduate: Margarita Soltero
  • Service Student of the Year

    This award honors a student who has demonstrated passion and dedication to service, reflecting critically on their experiences and addressing root causes of community issues through service.

    • 2023 Winners:
      • Graduate: Ashton Mach, Viola & Music Theory
      • Undergraduates: Seraphina Loukas, Molecular Biology
    • 2022 Winners:
      • Graduate: Derek Brannon
      • Undergraduates: Megan Holiday & Sarah Schuller
    • 2021 Winners:
      • Graduate: Meghan McCarroll
      • Undergraduate: Mawusi Danso
    • 2020 Winners:
      • Graduate: Emily Leeper
      • Undergraduate: Isaac Vargas
  • Community Organizer of the Year

    This award honors a student who has demonstrated outstanding community organizing skills and leadership by organizing others to take action on a critical social justice issue in the DU and/or Denver community.

    • 2023 Winners:
      • Graduate: Mona Moayedi, DU/Iliff Joint Program in Religion
      • Undergraduates: Will Sciepko, International Studies & Public Policy
    • 2022 Winners:
      • Graduate: Bert Evans-Taylor
      • Undergraduates: Daniela Chavez & Marissa Martinez Suarez
    • 2021 Winners:
      • Graduate: Dilkush Khan
      • Undergraduate: Elsa Dienema  
    • 2020 Winners:
      • Graduate: Josie Ampaw
      • Undergraduate: Samantha Helgeson

Puksta Scholars

The DU Puksta Scholars Program is an enriching four-year scholarship program and community open to Denver high school students who have been accepted to the University of Denver and who have an interest in social justice.

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Kimmy Foundation Community Service Professional Award

The Kimmy Foundation's mission is to support youths who exhibit creativity, character, and compassion in keeping with the life and ideals of Kathryn Dougherty Galbreath. This award, given to a graduating senior from DU’s traditional undergraduate program, highlights the Kimmy Foundation's efforts to support those who give to others and lead the way toward helping their community.

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Scholar Development & Fellowship Advising

CCESL student programs enhance student's competitiveness for external fellowships. The Office of Scholar Development & Fellowship Advising, established in 2022, can further support students and recent graduates from across the university in their development as scholars through pursuit of external awards. In most cases, external awards are funding and programming to help pursue a purposeful activity beyond DU, such as research, language study, or public service. The Office of Scholar Development & Fellowship Advising can help students build on their work at DU and pursue external awards that can maximize their impact as well as their professional, scholarly, and personal growth.

  • Newman Civic Fellowship

    The Newman Civic Fellowship is a year-long program that recognizes and supports student public problem solvers at Campus Compact member institutions. DU may nominate one fellow each year based on their potential for public leadership and their work with communities. Throughout the fellowship year, Campus Compact provides fellows with opportunities to nurture their assets and help them develop strategies for social change—creating a network of connected and engaged student leaders who can support one another in making positive change. 

    2023: Daniela Chavez 

    2019: Amanda Wittebort 

    2018: Liliana Diaz-Solodukhin 

  • Truman Scholarship

    The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards merit-based scholarships to support graduate study leading to a career in government or elsewhere in public service. Truman Scholars receive up to $30,000 for graduate or professional school, participate in leadership development activities, and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government. DU may nominate up to 4 eligible juniors each year.  

  • Other External Awards

    Learn more about external awards: there are so many awards out there! SDFA can help you think through what opportunities might be the best fit for your goals and interests.  

Public Good Photo Showcase

Each year, students, faculty, and staff from across campus are invited to submit a photo and a written statement reflecting on the impact community engagement has had on their experience at DU. Photos and written statements are then displayed in the Community Commons Art Gallery from May to June. Awards are presented to those whose entries best illuminate the CCESL pathways below. 

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    THINK

    Recognizes submissions that exemplify the pursuit of knowledge to inform action, such as being able to contextualize a social justice issue, understanding of civic and democratic processes, and/or the various ways of working for social change.

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    CONNECT

    Recognizes submissions that exemplify artist’s ability to develop relationships rooted in reciprocity, mutuality and collaboration committing to act for the public good. 

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    REFLECT

    Recognizes submissions that exemplify the artist’s understanding of their place within the community and their responsibilities with and to others.

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    ACT

    Recognizes submissions that exemplify the artist, becoming a skillful agent of change, such as applying an anti-oppression analysis to inform community-engaged activities or working collaboratively for social change.

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    EXEMPLARY ENGAGED PATHWAYS

    This award is the highest honor, demonstrating an integration of the four pathways, Think, Connect, Act, Reflect, accompanied by creative, high-quality imagery that captures the artist’s engagement.

2022 Photo Winners

people marching

EXEMPLARY ENGAGED PATHWAYS Award: Conner Goode

“Less Talk More Action”

This photograph is a photo of strength, resistance, and unity. As institutions of oppression continue to threaten the necessity of education, lifelong learning, and curiosity, it is more imperative than ever to push back towards equality and equity for all. This photograph symbolizes the bravery, strength, and courage of graduate student within the Graduate School of Professional Psychology as they protested against an unjust system of privilege. Different programs including masters and doctoral students, alongside supportive staff and faculty, marched against the deep injustices imbedded within this institution. This photograph, deprived from color, symbolizes the times this institution is living in, one of the past and not of the future. The diverse faces marching as one shows a front that cannot be divided when faced with such daily difficulties. Hopefully, this photograph will instill a sense of combatting feelings within the audience. Feelings of hope and sadness, alongside feelings of pride and anger, all working together to rebuild this institution into what it should be, a place of learning and growth for all.

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