By: Miriam Brown ’21
For staff and students continuing engagement through the Colorado College Collaborative for Community Engagement, the term “community” is taking on new meaning.
Civic leadership paraprofessional Sophia Pray ’19 says the CCE staff has been working to accommodate student schedules and help find them meaningful remote engagement opportunities.
“These times are completely riddled with uncertainty, so we are trying to prioritize making sure that students have financial security for those who work for us, ways to meaningfully connect with their communities and our staff and peer groups, and ways to show up remotely for their values right now,” Pray says.
Students in the Community Engaged Fellows program are wrapping up their credit with Facebook discussions and a cumulative reflective essay, and graduating students in the Community Engaged Leaders program are still working remotely on their capstone projects with CCE staff. And for others looking for ways to continue engagement remotely, the CCE staff compiled an 11-page document of engagement and learning opportunities.
Pray says some students have even been finding new communities in this time. The CC chapter of Sunrise Movement, a national organization advocating for political action to combat the climate crisis, has amped up their engagement at this time, Pray says. The group has been hosting biweekly Zoom meetings to connect and coordinate activism efforts, and The Colorado Sun recently ran an article by member Isabel Hicks ’22 about the group, headlined, “When coronavirus prompted my college to quickly close, it brought me to tears. Then I found my community.”
Examples of other individual students continuing their work through the CCE are wide-ranging. To name a few, Community Engaged Fellow Heba Shiban ’21 has been making paintings to be delivered to her local nursing home. Fellow Tamar Crump ’23 is continuing tutoring with the Refugee Alliance, teaching English via Zoom to a family from the Congo. Community Engaged Leader Natalie Sarver ’20 is working on the front lines as a nurse in Colorado Springs.
“It’s definitely been a hard transition for a lot of folks feeling like they’re losing community, but also I think more than ever, our students are feeling a call to action,” Pray says.
Pictured, Heba Shiban ’21 displays some paintings she has made for her local nursing home.
Colorado College’s Collaborative for Community Engagement creates and supports community-engaged learning experiences for CC students as they apply their liberal arts education and connect with our campus community and beyond. Hear from Director Jordan Travis Radke, Community Partnership Development Coordinator Niki Sosa, and Civic Leadership Program Coordinator Sophie Pray ’19 as they reflect on community engagement during the Coronavirus pandemic.
