Originally from Garner, N.C., Mendez-Sandoval was an Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellow and Odyssey Program scholar during his time at Elon. He majored in business administration and economic consulting, with minors in accounting and leadership studies. A researcher as an undergraduate, he worked with former Assistant Professor Carmen Monico and Associate Professor Vanessa Bravo to analyze the conditions at U.S. immigrant detention centers to better understand the overall well-being of immigrants housed there.

An active student leader, Mendez-Sandoval was a resident assistant and a diversity, equity and inclusion ambassador for the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. A member of La Unidad Latina and the Lambda Upsilon Fraternity, Mendez-Sandoval also served in executive positions with the Elon Consulting Club and with the Project Management Club. As a senior, he was presented with the Love School of Business Responsible Leadership Award and with the Student Achievement in Economic Consulting Award.

Beyond Elon, Mendez-Sandoval worked with the Alamance Chamber to facilitate Alamance Youth Leadership Academy workshops for middle-school students to help them identify their own leadership potential and learn how to empower others. In 2020, he was named a Newman Civic Fellow by N.C. Campus Compact (now N.C. Campus Engagement) in recognition of his extensive service to the university and the broader community as well as his development as a leader.

Mendez-Sandoval is now enrolled in the Master of Accounting Program at N.C. State University and will join PwC upon graduation. He joins Chandler Vaughan ‘21 as the second youth trustee on the board and will serve through May 2024.

Hosted at 51������, North Carolina Campus Engagement has deep roots on campus, stretching back to its formation nearly three decades ago and its growth as a leader in educating students in civic and social responsibility. A collaborative network of 39 colleges and universities, North Carolina Campus Engagement (NCCE) partners with communities for positive change and leads initiatives to strengthen democracy.

“There is no question that the strength, vitality, and sustainability of NCCE – and this nearly 30-year collaborative network of N.C. colleges and universities committed to community engagement – is directly tied to the support and stability provided by the partnership with 51������,” said Leslie Garvin, executive director of North Carolina Campus Engagement. “Not only are we truly grateful for this commitment but we are also so proud to be associated with an institution that continues to be a national leader and model of community and civic engagement.”

To celebrate the shift, NCCE at High Point University and N.C. State University this summer that included reflecting on the organization’s past and looking toward its future. The celebration included the unveiling of the new  plan that details the organization’s plans for strategic growth and for deepening its member campus network.

NCCE began as North Carolina Campus Volunteers in 1993 as a state-based effort focused on mobilizing the North Carolina higher education sector to deepen its commitment to their public purposes of addressing social issues and advancing a just and democratic society. The organization had early ties to Elon, which in 1994 hosted the first annual statewide student conference for North Carolina Campus Volunteers and helped coordinate the growing coalition.

North Carolina Campus Volunteers would become an affiliate of Campus Compact, a national coalition of college and university presidents, committed to fulfilling the public purposes of higher education, in 2002 to connect these statewide efforts to a growing national community and civic engagement movement. With the move, Elon agreed to serve as host campus to North Carolina Campus Compact, the new affiliate, with President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert serving as the first chair of the organization’s executive board and John Barnhill ‘95, now associate vice president for university advancement, serving as its first executive director.

After two decades of national affiliation, the organization adopted a new vision that includes a return to its place-based roots and the adoption of its new name — North Carolina Campus Engagement. As an unaffiliated and independent organization, NCCE will be advancing the collaborative work of public problem-solving and strengthening democracy through the transformation of people, institutions and communities across North Carolina, according to Garvin.

“This shift is an exciting opportunity to strengthen and deepen support for this unique cross-sector network of institutions that embrace a shared responsibility to help solve public problems while preparing students for active citizenship,” Garvin said.

The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes students who stand out for their commitment to creating positive change in communities locally and around the world. 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, fellows are nominated by Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors, who are invited to select one outstanding student from their campus each year.

Lockwood is studying business administration, marketing and political science at Elon and serves as a senator in the Student Government Association and participates in Elon’s Living Learning Community focused on civic engagement. He notes that creating open dialogue is an effective approach to addressing many of the world’s social issues.

“Gathering different perspectives surrounding an issue can provide an all-encompassing way to approach and solve political challenges,” Lockwood said in . “As a senator in 51������’s Student Government Association, I participate in civil discussions every week regarding issues with the university and work towards collaborative solutions.”

Lockwood is also a leader in Elon’s Living Learning Community that is focused on civic engagement and he says provides students the opportunity to come together to discuss global political issues. “I have seen many students find commonalities in their perspectives and even propose solutions that could potentially be public policy in the future,” Lockwood said. “Civil discourse has always been very important to me and will continue to be my passion as I continue to address social issues.”

Through the fellowship, Campus Compact will provide these students with a year 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 name such an outstanding and diverse group of students Newman Civic Fellows,” said Campus Compact President Bobbie Laur. “Their passion and resolve to take action on the wide range of issues challenging our neighborhoods and communities is inspiring and deeply needed. We cannot wait to engage with them through this transformative experience.”

In her recommendation of Lockwood for the fellowship, Elon President Connie Ledoux Book said that he is a student leader who is committed to teaching others to use civil discourse to address political polarization and find solutions to social challenges. “Ryan prepares students to participate in civic engagement opportunities where they can gain community engagement skills and an understanding of their civic responsibilities,” Book said. “He is a leader who challenges students to find common threads with others across differences and propose solutions that could advance the public good.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship program is supported by the KPMG Foundation. Learn more at compact.org/newman-civic-fellowship. You can read more about each of the student leaders selected for this year’s cohort .

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. Visit .

The Community Partner Award is given to one organization annually that has enhanced the quality of life in the community in meaningful and measurable ways and engaged in the development of a sustained, reciprocal partnership with an NC Campus Compact member institution.

This partnership between The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of Alamance County (TSABGC) and Elon exemplifies a deep, sustained, evolving, relationship built on a solid foundation of trust, open communication, sharing resources and mutually beneficial interactions. Nearly three decades ago a small group of Elon students began volunteering at TSABGC. Since then the partnership has expanded and evolved to include a multitude of direct and indirect opportunities including volunteerism, academic service-learning courses, internship and practicum placements, research, fundraising, and advocacy.

During the past 10 years, Elon’s Kernodle Center for Civic Life has awarded over $15,000 to support academic partnerships with TSABGC and student organizations have raised over $12,000. In the last two years, students have served more than 1,700 hours and in the past five years, TSABGC has participated in 71 academic-service-learning partnerships that have engaged more than 1,500 students. Through the America Reads program, many students who are eligible to receive federal work-study are able to receive support while serving as tutors at TSABGC. Through the Leaders in Collaborative Service (LINCS) program that was launched in 2004, a student liaison has served as a volunteer manager in the organization and supports TSABGC’s changing needs through student recruitment and building organizational capacity. TSABGC has also been a consistent community partner over the years for student-athletes to engage in service.

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the partners have found ways to continue working together and respond to changing needs.

For several years, members of the Elon women’s tennis team have volunteered at TSABGC to help young students with homework or spend time with them on the playground. Since the pandemic did not allow the team to meet with students face-to-face for months, and with their tennis season cut short, the student-athletes launched a new initiative to help the children stay active and connected during months of stay-at-home orders.

Through a collaboration between Elon Athletics and the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, they produced a series of tennis tutorial videos to teach students at the TSABGC how to play the sport. The lessons focus on the basics of tennis, from conditioning to fundamental techniques that can be learned without the use of equipment. This was especially valuable in the summer when TSABGC’s summer camp could only support a fraction of its typical number of campers, and field trips had to be canceled altogether. Because of the videos, the students who were unable to attend this year’s camp could stay active by gathering several times a week around a television or projection screen to learn footwork, conditioning and serving skills from Elon tennis players.

The experience of serving at TSABGC has been so transformative that dozens of students have continued volunteering at the club even after their service-learning course or episodic volunteering activity ended. Notably, Tara Nager ’12 served as a tutor while a student at Elon and then took on a leadership role as a LINCS volunteer for two years, and then served as a senior year intern. Upon her graduation, Nager joined the staff at TSABGC and now serves as program director.

The strong reciprocal nature of the partnership is evidenced by the fact that Executive Director Sherri Henderson, who has been with the SABGCA since 1988, co-facilitates training sessions at Elon and has served on the Advisory Committee of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life. She also speaks in classes, and currently advises the Partnership Agreement committee with faculty, staff and students as part of the Academic Service- Learning Advisory Committee.

TSABGC has two Elon staff and one faculty member serving on its Advisory Council. One Elon staffer serves on Area Council, a leadership forum for The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of North and South Carolina.

The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of Alamance County was on Feb. 10.

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North Carolina Campus Compact is a collaborative network of 39 colleges and universities committed to educating students for civic and social responsibility, partner with communities for positive change, and strengthen democracy. Learn more at .

Crump is a recipient of the network’s Community Impact Student Award, which recognizes one student leader at each member school that demonstrates a deep commitment to community involvement and the ability to inspire peers. Campus Compact honored the recipients during a virtual awards ceremony on Nov. 13.

Crump, a senior majoring in public health studies, Spanish, and Latin American studies, has been active in the Leaders in Collaborative Service program, which connects students to partner organizations to address community issues. She served as the coordinator for Family Abuse Services, which provides support services to domestic violence victims. In that position, Crump connected Elon students to volunteer opportunities and supported a variety of projects such as visits to local schools to discuss relationship violence and organizing advocacy events for health relationship awareness.

In her current role as a director for the Leaders in Collaborative Services program, Crump provides feedback, guidance, support, and resources to her peers to help them be successful in their roles.

Crump has been deeply involved in Elon’s alternative breaks program. She started as a participant her first year at Elon, became the coordinator for an international program her sophomore year, and is now is a student director.

She is currently involved in a community-based research project connected to her public health studies major. She is conducting research on the HIV epidemic in the rural south and proposing an intervention to address family oriented HIV-related stigma. By targeting her research on a newly-diagnosed, HIV-positive family member in the five most impoverished counties in North Carolina, she hopes to reduce stigma at the interpersonal level and strengthen systems of support for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Kyle Anderson, assistant director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, nominated Crump for the award, noting the connection between her values and her research on HIV in the rural South. “Jo has a clear passion for Public Health and relevant intersecting issues,” Anderson said. “She has been able to engage deeply in work tied to her values in multiple ways.” 

North Carolina Campus Compact is a collaborative network of 39 colleges and universities committed to educating students for civic and social responsibility, partner with communities for positive change, and strengthen democracy. Learn more at .

As director of Elon’s Habitat for Humanity campus chapter, Duffield has demonstrated skillful attention to detail, remarkable preparation, and a knack for improving organizational processes that result in better service and greater impact. She has made volunteer sign-up and management systems more efficient and reliable, created an “education coordinator” position to spearhead campus outreach, and started a new fundraising partnership with Elon’s Interfraternity Council.

An inclusive leader, Duffield has built relationships with local Habitat staff, future Habitat homeowners, and nearly 150 Elon student chapter members. Beyond Habitat, Duffield serves as secretary of Alpha Phi Omega, as a member of Elon Volunteers! executive board, and as the office manager of topics around the theme: “The Power of Youth Civic Courage. She is originally from Philadelphia.

North Carolina Campus Compact is a collaborative network of 37 colleges and universities committed to educating students for civic and social responsibility, partnering with communities for positive change, and strengthening democracy. The N.C. Campus Compact state office fosters connections between campuses, shares best practice information and resources, recognizes outstanding work, and champions civic and community engagement in higher education. 

Duffield was honored at the Compact’s annual CSNAP student conference, held in late 2018 at Fayetteville State University. The event brought together more than 150 students and staff from 23 campuses in the network. In addition to awards and networking opportunities, the conference included student-led workshops, panel discussions, and plenary sessions on diverse community engagement.

Founded in 2002 and hosted by 51������, the North Carolina network is an affiliate of national Campus Compact, which claims 1,000 member schools representing nearly 2 million college students.

The day-long training and idea exchange is geared for students who are leading campuswide, nonpartisan voter engagement efforts at colleges and universities across the state. Sessions will cover civic education topics like the proposed NC state constitutional amendments as well as skills for campus organizers like writing a campus voting plan or registering students during the early voting period. 

Representatives from a number of partner organizations will help lead the Summit. These include Campus Vote Project, the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education, NASPA’s Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement initiative, the Students Learn Students Vote coalition, Common Cause NC, You Can Vote, and Elon Votes! Funding for the event is provided in part by the national through a grant to NC Campus Compact. 

The summit is free to attend, but space is limited and participants must by Sept. 7. . 

North Carolina Campus Compact is a collaborative network of colleges and universities committed to educating students for civic and social responsibility, partnering with communities for positive change, and strengthening democracy. The NC Campus Compact state office, hosted by 51������, fosters connections between campuses, shares best practice information and resources, recognizes outstanding work, and champions civic and community engagement in higher education.

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‘s annual gathering of  will explore how campuses can seek answers to these questions by assessing the scope, scale, and impact of community service, service-learning, and related forms of engagement.

The full-day training is led by Anne Weiss, director of assessment for Indiana Campus Compact and a visiting scholar with Tufts University’s Institute for Democracy and Higher Education. Anne is a doctoral candidate in higher education administration at Indiana University and the editor of a forthcoming book, “Assessing the (Often) Hidden Outcomes of Community Engagement.”

Weiss will share tools, strategies, and information to help participants design, initiate or enhance systematic mechanisms for monitoring and auditing community-engaged activities across their institutions. 

Registration is open through May 31. Cost is $100/pp for individuals from campuses that are and $130/pp for those from non-member campuses. 

Follow this event on Twitter at and #NCCEAC. 

The annual PACE (Pathways to Achieving Community Engagement) Conference is geared for service-learning faculty and staff of civic and community engagement programs, but students and community partners also attend and present.

The 2018 event features a keynote by Nicholas Longo of Providence College titled “Next Generation Engagement: Building on History, Charting New Pathways.” Longo will also facilitate a conversation on the role of students in creating an engaged campus, reflecting on the state of ideas proposed in his 2006 book, “Students as Colleagues: Expanding the Circle of Service-Learning Leadership.”

Nearly 40 51������ faculty and staff will attend the event, including the following who will lead breakout workshops or mini-sessions:

Using the Civic Learning Spiral to Develop and Assess a Student Leader Curriculum
Bob Frigo, Associate Director, Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement            
Kim Fath, Assistant Director of Assessment, Office of Institutional Research and Assessment

Global Model of Practicum Student Instruction Through Guatemalan Partnerships
Carmen Monico, Assistant Professor, Human Services   
Alejandra Paull, Student, 51������

Academic Service Learning as a Context for Addressing University Students’ Math Anxiety
Heidi Hollingsworth, Associate Professor of Education and Program Coordinator for Early Childhood       
Mary Knight-McKenna, Associate Professor of Education

Faculty Emotions in Service-Learning (mini-session)
Alexa Darby, Faculty Development Fellow and Psychology Professor
Morgan Oldham, Student, 51������

Lessons Learned from Building a Campus Infrastructure for Civic and Political Engagement (mini-session)
Bob Frigo, Associate Director, Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement

North Carolina Campus Compact is a statewide coalition of 37 public, private, and community colleges and universities that share a commitment to civic and community engagement. The network was founded in 2002 and is hosted by 51������. North Carolina Campus Compact is an affiliate of the national Campus Compact organization, which claims 1,000 member schools representing nearly 2 million college students.

Follow this event on social media  and #NCPACE18. 

Timothy Shaffer of Kansas State University and Nicholas Longo of Providence College will lead the institute, drawing on scholarship collected in a book the two co-authored, “Deliberative Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning for Democratic Engagement.”

Shaffer and Longo assert that the classroom practice of deliberative pedagogy, as well as related dialogic approaches outside the classroom, can foster civility and strengthen democracy.

A dozen 51������ faculty and staff will attend. Mary Morrison, assistant dean of campus life and director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, and Naeemah Clark, associate professor of communications, will co-present a breakout session showcasing Elon’s efforts to foster campuswide dialogue across difference.

The Compact’s annual explores a special topic in the field of higher education civic and community engagement and is open to cross-departmental teams of faculty, staff and students from member campuses. In recent years, institutes have focused on bridging the gap between social entrepreneurship and community engagement, on democratic education in the tradition of Dewey, and on linkages between campus-community engagement and economic development.

North Carolina Campus Compact is a statewide coalition of 37 public, private, and community colleges and universities that share a commitment to civic and community engagement. The network was founded in 2002 and is hosted by 51������. North Carolina Campus Compact is an affiliate of the national organization, which claims 1,000 member schools representing nearly 2 million college students.

Follow this event on social media and #CEI18.