Campus Compact

Yasmin Mohamud, a senior at CU �Ǹ�Թ�, receives Newman Fellowship

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 18:40:01 +0000

Yasmin Mohamud, a senior at CU �Ǹ�Թ�, receives Newman Fellowship Arielle Wiedenbeck Fri, 09/25/2026 - 12:40

Ella Hemingway

The 2026-27 Newman Fellows were announced by Campus Compact, and the �Ǹ�Թ�’s Yasmin Mohamud is a recipient. The Newman Fellowship celebrates undergraduate students across the country who demonstrate leadership qualities and a devotion to civic responsibility. This year’s recipients are spread across 39 states, Washington D.C. and Mexico.

Through this fellowship, Mohamud will have access to a variety of opportunities, including a chance to apply for a mini grant to conduct a social impact project. She will also engage with leadership development events where she will work alongside a mentor to hone her skills as a civic leader and plan her future goals. In early November an annual convening of all this year’s Newman Fellow’s will be held, which Mohamud will attend alongside her fellow recipients to build a network of engaged individuals.

Mohamud is a senior studying political science and plans to pursue law school after graduation, with an interest in religious identity and representation. Before transferring to CU �Ǹ�Թ� during her sophomore year, Mohamud commuted to her previous college campus, which led her to feel excluded from campus life. But after transferring to CU �Ǹ�Թ�, she was able to live on campus and wanted to become more involved with extracurriculars.

Mohamud has taken advantage of many of the opportunities offered to undergraduates, such as becoming involved with the Multicultural Leadership Scholars and TRiO Student Support Services, which prioritizes academic and community achievements. As president of the Political Science Club, she works to address social issues on campus and in her community. Mohamud’s nomination was tendered as a result of her accomplishments, both in high school and while studying at CU �Ǹ�Թ�, as well as her plans to continue enacting change well after graduation.

Prior to being accepted as a Newman Fellow, Mohamud participated in multiple volunteer experiences. With CU �Ǹ�Թ�’s Office of Service Learning and Impact in Community Engagement (SLICE), a volunteer resource center on campus, Mohamud was able to take part in an alternative spring break trip to Selma, Alabama.

While volunteering in this city famous for its contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, Mohamud was trained in Kingian Civil Rights Rehabilitation. She learned how the community of Selma was able to implement the ideas into their community and how the model eventually spread across the United States. Mohamud referenced this experience with reverence for the community she served.

"We went to help them. I feel like they helped us," said Mohamud.

Mohamud also researched the impact of COVID-19 on refugee communities in Colorado with the Muslim Youth for Positive Impact, a Colorado non-profit organization. The work involved weekly visitations to different communities where she discussed their knowledge of vaccine centers nearby and the COVID-19 vaccinations in general. Through this opportunity, Mohamud connected not only with her own Muslim community but also with communities from Afghanistan and Iran.

“I think I learned the most from helping communities that weren't my own,” said Mohamud. “To go somewhere else and hear about their struggles was so eye opening to me and gave me a deeper perspective, which gave me my passion for volunteering."

Before volunteering in her own state of Colorado, Mohamud travelled to Barcelona, Spain with the Multicultural Leadership Scholars where she learned about and worked with disadvantaged communities. She was given the opportunity to hear from different minority populations in another country, and the experience was formative for her college career and development as a civic leader.

Along with being one of this year’s Newman Fellows, Mohamud is a Wagner Scholar. As such, she has been given the opportunity to volunteer with local businesses in �Ǹ�Թ� and specifically plans to work on their Climate Equity Initiative. She hopes to develop a social research project which will aim to address climate inequality in �Ǹ�Թ�.

It is a great honor to be nominated and accepted as a Newman Fellow. It speaks to the fortitude and character of its recipients. Named after Frank Newman, one of the founders of Campus Compact and an advocate for civic responsibility, the fellowship celebrates only the most deserving undergraduate students who possess and tirelessly demonstrate similar ideals as Newman. Mohamud embodies these ideals with her philosophy on community: "If you want a village, you have to be a villager."

Her perspective on volunteering, not as a romanticized activity but as a required inconvenience for the betterment of a community, is one that puts Mohamud beyond her years. Unglamourous actions gain immeasurable results, and Mohamud's understanding of this idea is what made her an undoubtable candidate for this award.

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Teaching East Asia Through Picture Books receives excellence in civic and community engagement award

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:30:15 +0000

Teaching East Asia Through Picture Books receives excellence in civic and community engagement award Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 03/03/2026 - 12:30

Teaching East Asia, Center for Asian Studies

Mentored by staff from the Program for Teaching East Asia, �Ǹ�Թ� students develop picture books that focus on a specific region of East Asia. These books are then used as teaching tools in K-12 classrooms across Colorado.

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CU �Ǹ�Թ� student Anastasia Gallegos-Roque receives Newman Civic Fellowship

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:22:13 +0000

CU �Ǹ�Թ� student Anastasia Gallegos-Roque receives Newman Civic Fellowship Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 09/23/2025 - 12:22

Elle Moscinski

Every year, an undergraduate student who demonstrates exemplary leadership is nominated for Campus Compact’s Newman Civic Fellowship, which supports student leaders who show great potential for tackling human rights and social justice issues. This year, �Ǹ�Թ�’s own Anastasia Gallegos-Roque is one of the recipients. She is studying sociology and ethnic studies on a pre-law track with a minor in journalism and multicultural leadership. Gallegos-Roque was nominated by the Center for Leadership and Chancellor Schwartz.

The fellowship is a year-long program that creates a network of student leaders ready to solve societal issues. Only one representative is chosen from each university. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to represent CU �Ǹ�Թ�,” said Gallegos-Roque. During her fellowship, she will participate in workshops about networking, seeking grant funds and how to prepare research proposals. Gallegos-Roque will have the opportunity to ground herself in her leadership skills, soak in expertise and experience, and become a better leader.

Gallegos-Roque has experienced personal challenges during her own journey—such as coming from a single-parent, Hispanic household. “Being a woman in today’s age is very hard,” she shared. “It comes with a whole different set of barriers.” As someone who, at an early age, experienced a lot of unfairness in the world, Gallegos-Roque developed a passion for social justice and standing up for what’s right. The fellowship recognizes Gallegos-Roque’s dedication to social change and promoting multiculturalism and inclusivity. “I think, being a first-gen student and, coming from a very diverse multicultural background, my community doesn’t really have opportunities to go to college or even finish high school. Making my family proud and making myself proud is an honor and a privilege,” she said.

When reflecting on why civic work was important to her, Gallegos-Roque shared that it is teamwork and collaboration that are the most significant. Firstly, she emphasized that experiencing others’ perspectives is crucial for growing as a person. From experiencing a march in Chicago to traveling abroad to India, interacting with communities other than her own gave Gallegos-Roque a sense of her power and her privilege. She noted that one of the most significant parts of her experience in India was seeing little girls whom she worked with smile. They mentioned how their dream was to go to America, and it struck her that their dreams were so different from her own. She realized how privileged she was to grow up in America when other little girls dreamt of growing up and moving there. Experiencing other cultures and livelihoods invokes a certain discomfort, but Gallegos-Roque says that is when you learn the most. It allows you to step outside your world for a moment and grow as a person; to see things in ways that you never would have before.

Secondly, teamwork is critical to social justice issues because you simply cannot do it alone. “It takes a pack, it takes more than one to firmly get an agenda across,” Gallegos-Roque said. She highlighted that she would not have even considered going to India without the support of her friends, who encouraged her to apply to scholarships she did not imagine herself ever getting. The Civic Newman Fellowship itself is founded on the importance of collaboration. Each recognized student from a university can use their voice, but the fellowship brings them together to amplify each other’s voices. Gallegos-Roque will be a part of a network of students who can all support each other to create change.

Gallegos-Roque plans to use the resources and network of support provided by the program to advance change for immigration, housing security, food insecurity and child advocacy. She will participate in a retreat for fellows in the fall and then attend monthly online meetings while being supported by a mentor. Gallegos-Roque will work with Growing Up �Ǹ�Թ�; a nonprofit whose mission is to help young people use their voices to advance progress for equitable and sustainable communities. She will also continue to be a mentor in first-generation and multicultural communities. For prospective students who want to start civic work, she advises to just do it. “There’s no perfect time, so don’t wait for the perfect time. Don’t wait for a comfortable time,” she said. Gallegos-Roque also advises others to recognize the power their own voice can have. “Your voice can be extremely impactful in a community that doesn’t have the option to use their voice or doesn’t feel comfortable using their voice,” she commented.

It is this unwavering fearlessness to speak up--even in moments of great discomfort—and use her voice on behalf of others that earned Gallegos-Roque the nomination.

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Campus Compact

Yasmin Mohamud, a senior at CU �Ǹ�Թ�, receives Newman Fellowship

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Teaching East Asia Through Picture Books receives excellence in civic and community engagement award

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CU �Ǹ�Թ� student Anastasia Gallegos-Roque receives Newman Civic Fellowship

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