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Westminster College Student Honored as 2017 Newman Civic Fellow

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Posted on Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has announced the 273 students who will make up the organization’s 2017 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows, including Westminster College’s own Sarah Smith.

Sarah Smith, a senior accounting major and human resource minor, is a daughter of Dale and Debra Smith and a graduate of Burgettstown Area High School. She is active on campus and in the local community by serving in different groups and activities. She is a Resident Assistant in a campus dormitory, volunteers on Chapel Staff and meets with the UKirk College ministry program at a local church.

She has been a three-year member of ENACTUS, an accounting and business club, and has become a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance worker helping prepare taxes for low-income families in New Castle, PA.

“In looking at the criteria for the Newman Civic Fellow program, [we] quickly thought of Sarah,” Rev. Jim Mohr, Westminster College Chaplain. “She is involved in a lot of areas on campus. She has a commitment to making life better for the community around her, which in our eyes made her the perfect nominee for Westminster College”.

As a 2017 Newman Civic Fellow, Sarah will be a part of the first cohort to benefit from a completely re-designed fellowship. The Newman Civic Fellowship, named for Campus Compact co-founder Frank Newman, is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional, and civic growth. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

“The cultivation of community-committed leaders has never been more crucial,” said Campus Compact president Andrew Seligsohn. “We rebuilt the Newman Civic Fellowship experience because our country needs more people who know how to bring communities together for positive change. We are thrilled to welcome this group of 273 exemplary students as the first cohort to participate in this new model.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship is supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation.

Campus Compact's Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. The fellowship is named in honor of Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact's founders, and is supported by the KPMG Foundation and by the Newman's Own Foundation.

For more information, contact Tom Fields at fieldste@westminster.edu or 724-946-7190.