What if you could see Denver through the eyes of older adults who have experienced homelessness? Partnering with Elevated Denver, Eric Chess, Dr. Pilar Ingle, and the KIHA team set out to listen, learn, and uncover barriers—and solutions—by centering voices too often left out of the conversation.
What happens when students team up with Metro Caring, a leading anti-hunger organization in Denver, to design real-world campaigns for change? In COMM 3701, Communication for Social Change, students dive into hands-on learning and take on the challenge of making a difference.
A classroom at Lincoln High. A seminar room at the University of Denver. The gap between high school and college writing is bridged through The High School to College Writing Bridges project, co-led by Catherine Marotta, Angela Sowa, and Sarah Hart Micke, which brought together students, teachers, and faculty for three days of hands-on collaboration and co-mentoring. Here’s what unfolded.
Bridging Communities Through Language: First-Year Spanish Students Engage in Letter-Writing Project
First-year Spanish students at the University of Denver took part in a letter-writing initiative, connecting with local Spanish-speaking communities. Led by Professor Robinson and supported by CCESL, the project provided students with the resources to write and mail letters.
COMM 3701: Communication for Social Change gives students practical experience in creating theory-driven communication campaigns for real-world impact. Partnering with Metro Caring, a leading anti-hunger organization in Denver, the course initially focused on helping design fundraising messages. After identifying a greater need for volunteers, students shifted in Fall 2024 to develop a volunteer recruitment campaign.
Bringing Immigration Stories to Life: A Community-Engaged Teaching Initiative
In Winter Interterm 2024, Dr. Delio Figueroa and Dr. Julia Roncoroni led Immigration Enforcement, Human Rights, and Social Justice—a week-long graduate course focused on the real-life impacts of U.S. immigration enforcement. Supported by a CCESL grant, the course created opportunities for students to engage directly with immigrant voices and use storytelling for advocacy.
What if you could see Denver through the eyes of older adults who have experienced homelessness? Partnering with Elevated Denver, Eric Chess, Dr. Pilar Ingle, and the KIHA team set out to listen, learn, and uncover barriers—and solutions—by centering voices too often left out of the conversation.
A classroom at Lincoln High. A seminar room at the University of Denver. The gap between high school and college writing is bridged through The High School to College Writing Bridges project, co-led by Catherine Marotta, Angela Sowa, and Sarah Hart Micke, which brought together students, teachers, and faculty for three days of hands-on collaboration and co-mentoring. Here’s what unfolded.
Green-space Accessibility and Reporting Standards in the Denver Metro Region
For Brody Petig, a second-year Political Science and Public Policy major, community engagement meant joining CCESL as a student scholar and working alongside the Metro Denver Nature Alliance (MetroDNA) throughout the 24-25 academic year. Inspired by his parents’ example of service, Brody took on roles ranging from event setup and check-in at the October Partner Convening to designing and sending newsletters for the March gathering. Through these hands-on experiences in advocacy and collaboration, Brody deepened his commitment to environmental change and gained valuable skills. Here’s how his journey unfolded.
Improving Food Access Through Data: Evaluating Metro Caring’s Procurement Strategy
Clare Ayoub, currently a second-year undergraduate at the Daniels College of Business, held an internship at Metro Caring during her first year (the 2024-25 academic year).
She researched how effective their food sourcing system was for the Universal Basic Food (UBF) pilot; a program providing free, high-quality, and culturally relevant food. Her goal was to assess whether Metro Caring’s approach truly met community needs, and to recommend improvements based on survey data and feedback from participants.
Myths in Motion: How Ancient Religious Tales Shaped Contemporary Traditions
Over the past quarters, Mona Moayedi, a part of a group, partnered with Sarv Center for Myths in Motion, organizing two community events: Nowruz (Spring Equinox) and Tirgan (Summer Solstice), supervised by Dr. Poupeh Missaghi. Each three-hour gathering invited people of diverse backgrounds to explore how ancient myths still shape modern celebrations through storytelling, movement, and crafts.
Sustainability: a buzz-word that excites environmentalist and corporate CEO alike has reached a pivotal point in its history. In recent times, this term has impressed itself upon social consciousness in a variety of different ways. At times it has brought about monumental change for the good, and at others, it stood as a symbol for…
I was born in a small village full of indigenous Tharu people in Nepal in the year the Nepali Civil War began, 1996. Even though my parents were low-income immigrants from the hilly region, because of existing precedence, we belonged to the upper social strata. Contrary to my parents’ lives, I grew up having enough…
“The idea of citizen participation is a little like eating spinach: no one is against it in principle because it is good for you.” (Arnstein 1969, p. 216) Photo from 2jdominic at eatthismuch.com Arnstein’s analogy from her 1969 seminal work on citizen participation brings to mind a vibrant visual of a steaming bowl of spinach. …
