Community-Engaged Fellows advocate for community engagement and pursue community-engaged work. During the academic year, Fellows serve as ambassadors for CCESL, mentor undergraduate students, learn and reflect with their peers, and develop and implement a community-engaged project. Through these community-engaged projects, Fellows connect their academic and professional endeavors to supporting thriving communities.
This is a paid position open to graduate students and 3rd year and above undergraduate students enrolled for the entire 2023-2024 academic year.
The 2023 - 2024 application is now open! Priority deadline for review of applications is April 5th, 2023 at 5 pm MST. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.
Fellows develop and implement a mutually beneficial collaborative project with community partner(s) that aligns with their personal, professional, and academic development goals.
Ambassadorship
Fellows help promote community engagement at DU by giving presentations, tabling, and supporting community-engaged events.
Fellowship & Peer Learning
Fellows participate in weekly professional development trainings/workshops in an engaging and fun atmosphere that allows for long-term friendships and personal growth.
Mentorship
Each Fellow mentors a small cohort of undergraduate students, providing guidance and facilitating critical reflection in action-planning, relationship development, and topics specific to the students’ community engagement projects.
Reflection
Fellows engage in ongoing reflection and support the reflective practice of the undergraduates they mentor. All CCESL students, including Fellows, create a critical reflection ePortfolio (website) to curate artifacts, document and assess their learning, and make connections between their work and their field of study, professional identity, etc.
Compensation
Fellows are paid 10hours/week. Fellows also have access to project funds, community-engaged research opportunities, professional development, and mentorship.
Eligibility
Graduate students and 3rd year and above undergraduate students enrolled for the entire 2023-2024 academic year.
Additional Details
Fellows must be able to commit 10 hours a week to the program. That commitment includes a weekly 90-minute Fellows meeting and biweekly 1 on 1 meetings with a CCESL staff member. Fellows are expected to spend at least 4 hours a week in the CCESL office and/or at CCESL-sponsored events.
Community-Engaged Fellows Application
The 2023 - 2024 application is now open! Priority deadline for review of applications is April 5th, 2023 at 5 pm MST. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.
Jackie’s project explores how sense of belonging and connection are fostered and sustained in various communities. Focusing primarily on mutual aid and civic engagement spaces, she is identifying the group strategies and commitments that allow for the creation of safe, brave, and welcoming environments, both in-person and virtually. She seeks to create:
1) a belonging and connectedness “toolkit” so that these learnings can be adapted to more traditional spaces, and
2) a photo storytelling project on how different people define and experience community and belonging.
Shipra's project is focused on trying to understand how best we can make use of Buddhist teachings and values as pedagogical, program, and research methods at DU. Shipra is hoping to build upon the past two years of work, and come up with a concrete plan on how these methods can be applied into research and teaching. This includes exploring how it would look like for gallery/museum exhibitions and examining ways to demonstrate them in a decolonized manner that does justice to indigenous and local communities.
Ash will assist the Arapahoe Philharmonic in their community engagement programming. This will include revitalizing previous projects that were paused due to COVID as well as developing a new program for young composers.
Surrounded by researchers who study social problems such as homelessness and human trafficking Natcha is inspired by their leadership, impact, and their story leading up to today. Natcha plans to use these connections to create a project involving creative writing or a visual which will tell the inspiring stories of 5-6 researchers she is closely connected to (from DU, CU Anschutz, UC Denver, and MSU).
The Metro Denver Nature Alliance (Metro DNA) is a growing coalition of non-profit, government, research, and private sector members seeking to align nature-based efforts to ensure more equitable access to nature and to promote healthy people, communities, and natural places. Jenna Wyatt assists with organizational/project management and logistical support for the Regional Equity and Conservation Assessment. She is also supporting the Valverde Movement Project (VMP). VMP supports the Valverde Neighborhood Association in a quest to expand community health and wealth in Valverde.
Colleen is planning to work on the Valverde Movement Project as a community-engaged fellow. The Valverde Movement Project is a project that focuses on naming harm, centering harm, and building on collective strengths. She will be building an organizing committee that has goals of movement building in and for the community.
Derek will be continuing two projects, both of which center on ecological minded education and care. For the last two years, Derek has been part of a research team that is a collaboration between the Graduate School of Social Work, Metro State University, and Denver Public Schools. They are currently co-creating a ecological minded professional development curriculum with a team of teachers from the district. This effort is running parallel with another project with similar goals, but focuses on working youth activists in DPS. For his second project, Derek will continue mentoring DU undergraduate students, helping them craft sustainability curriculum for STRIVE Prep, a middle school in DPS.
Naichen will work on a K-12 equity project alongside a CCESL-connected faculty member who has been collaborating with Westminster High School on a STEM mentoring program.
Bennett will be researching environmental justice in the Denver Metro area by focusing on the health and wellness benefits of urban green spaces, as well as issues of access and equity in those spaces.
Mona will work on a series of projects whose objective is the revival of the ancient roots and cultural heritage of the colonized people and emigrants, and to dissolve the otherness in a multicultural society providing familiarity, engagement, and inclusivity.
cultural decolonization; activism against racial, gendered, and ethnic oppression through academic research, education, art, music, and public events.
Brandon and Dani Chavez will support youth organizing with high school students at Dr. Martin Luther King Early College. Guided by community organizing principles, their team will aid DMLK students to learn the power of their voice and to identify, research, and take action on an issue they are passionate about.
Dani Chavez and Brandon Arneson will support youth organizing with high school students at Dr. Martin Luther King Early College. Guided by community organizing principles, their team will aid DMLK students to learn the power of their voice and to identify, research, and take action on an issue they are passionate about. Dani will also be working with Valverde Movement Project on youth community outreach to better understand community needs.
Calvin is interested in exploring how online media platforms (social media, gaming, Twitch, etc.) influence individual and community identity formation in ways that are similar and different than in other environments. Calvin is also interested in understanding how these modalities affect the experiences of individuals and communities holding marginalized identities.
Note: CCESL programs, including this one, undergo an antiracist, anti-oppression review at least annually. In 2022, the review process led to revision of the position description and application materials.