Colorado College’s Day of Service was back for its 3rd annual creek cleanup in Monument Creek! On October 4th, CC hosted over 200 total volunteers, including members of the greater Colorado Springs community.

Over the course of three 2-hour shifts, volunteers picked up trash along the stretch of creek running from Uintah to Bijou. Although many volunteers were able to bring their trash bags back to the deployment site, staff and event volunteers took golf carts to shuttle some of the heavier and dirtier bags of garbage from the creek. The day even included a visit from President Jill Tiefenthaler, who came and cheered all of the volunteers on between the second and third shifts. After the cleanup was complete, the dumpster in at 1.71 tons – over 3,400 pounds!  The main three organizations on campus spearheading the logistical side of the event were Colorado College’s Collaborative for Community Engagement, the Office of Sustainability, and the State of the Rockies.

The Fountain Watershed Creek Week was initially organized in 2014 by a number of organizations in Southern Colorado, and it includes six major watershed communities in the Southern Colorado region including Colorado Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Fountain, Manitou Springs, Monument, Palmer Lake, Pueblo, and Woodland Park. From North to South, that is about 67 miles!  In total, there were over 60 clean up crews covering parks, trails, open spaces, and waterways in these 8 parts of Colorado. The stretch of creek CC cleaned was one of 8 separate zones in the Colorado Springs area, totaling about 3 miles of Monument Creek, which flows just west along the downtown area.

Many of the volunteers seemed to grasp the importance of the creek cleanup – both for the natural environment and our community’s well-being. When surveyed, 90% of the volunteers said  they would maybe or definitely participate in the clean up next year, and 60% said the clean up week changed their perspective on just how bad the pollution is in the waterways. The day’s work emphasized need for increased clean ups both in frequency and breadth, the need for more trash receptacles, and the need to address the issues of those unfortunate enough to be homeless in our communities. Liz Nichols, an office manager at RMFI, had the following to say about the cleanup: “My participation in Creek Week brought together several themes that are important to me. Our work at RMFI focuses a lot on erosion control, and in so much of our work area this means keeping sediment out of the Fountain Creek drainage. Our Creek Week project was picking up trash, but both endeavors contribute to the health of the watershed. Walking along the creek also reminds me of how much work remains to clean up the water itself. Its smell tells an old tired story. Much of the trash we found was generated by homeless camps along the creek. The homeless are another important issue our city is addressing, and I had not considered before this connection to a healthy watershed. The partnership with Colorado College, the Bonner Fellows we worked with, the consideration for Pueblo and our downstream neighbors highlighted the social community connections.”

Great job and a sincere “Thank You!” to everyone who participated in the cleanup and for caring about our environment!

By Sam White
Edited by Richard Bishop

This year, five students have been selected to participate in the CCE’s pilot of the Bonner Fellowship. This program aligns with the well-established nationally organized network of schools that have a Bonner program at their institution. These Bonner Fellows will engage in a yearlong paid internship with a community partner, in addition to working on community building and social justice education, as well as skill building to effectively create social change. The holistic nature of this program is designed to give students the education, preparation, and dialogue that empower them to be intentional in their community work. Launching this program at CC gives fellows access to a network of partner organizations, community engagement offices, other fellows, and alumni.

“Bringing the Bonner Fellowship to CC addresses issues that the CCE wants to prioritize: providing paid opportunities for community engagement for students who have to work while in school,” says Dr. Jordan Radke, CCE director. It also adds to the programs offered by the CCE, including BreakOut, the Community Engaged Scholars program, and the Community Engaged Leadership Certificate program. The Bonner Fellowship offers a program that is high-commitment and high-impact, which fills a niche in the CCE continuum of opportunities. The fellowship is intended to open engagement to students who need to work through college and do not have the same access to leisure time as other CC students – this includes underrepresented, first generation, and low income background students. This year’s five students were selected “based on their merit and passions and understanding of community engagement,” stated Dr. Radke.

This year the CCE office recruited a variety of organizations in the community. According to Dr. Radke, “we were intentional in selecting partners who suited several criteria – they needed to cover a range of issues, be located nearby for easy transportation for interns, and offer internships. These internships needed to provide our students with meaningful work, and the opportunity to scale up their responsibilities over time, because ideally this is a 4-year program.” The CCE sent student finalists to interview at the community partner organizations, and matched the students and partners to each other. This year, the partners are the Rocky Mountain Field Institute, Colorado Springs School District 11, Meadows Park Community Center, Southern Colorado Health Network, and the City of Colorado Springs (Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services).

The future of the program is contingent on funding for next year, provided that this year’s pilot program is successful. Dr. Radke hopes that the program will develop to support up to 10 students, and that the CCE “can leverage the expertise of both community partners and faculty. The program’s small group meetings are collaborative, and we want to create a learning community around the program.” If the program continues, Dr. Radke would also like to see the program become integrated into the admissions process as a scholarship to support committed students, and function as a recruiting tool. Currently, the Bonner Fellows meet three weeks out of every block to check in, and they also attend additional programming outside the blockly requirements for their internships. Their most recent workshop was on reciprocity in community engagement, said Dr. Radke. “We discussed how to go into a community humbly – you have something to offer and also something to learn.”

To learn more about the CCE’s Bonner Fellowship, visit https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/cce/students/bonnerfellowship.html.

On Wednesday, September 27^th, the CCE’s new house held its first large event as 30 new Engaged Scholars, most of them first years, squeezed in for a tasty lunch and their program orientation.  This meeting was intended to inform students on how to fulfill their obligations to the program and illustrate the many ways in which they can be involved in the community.

At the meeting, the CCE held a panel with leaders in campus engagement programs, including David Crye, Assistant Director of the Office of Outdoor Education, Ian Johnson, Director of Sustainability, and Lani Hinkle, Director of the Public Interest Fellowship Program. “One of the purposes of the orientation is to broaden the scope of strategies for investing yourself in social change,” says Jordan Radke, CCE director. “The goal is to make all the information on this campus about community engagement manageable.” She also cites the fact that the Community Engaged Scholars Program is designed to be a gateway program that helps to build a more engaged campus culture. Students hold themselves accountable for the work they put in to their community engagement, and how they choose to be involved, so each scholar creates an individualized program. The orientation is a chance for students to view engagement as something beyond direct service, finding opportunities in coursework, internships, and activism.

Looking ahead, Jordan hopes to grow the program not just in how many students participate, but also in the support offered to the scholars by the CCE. An Engaged Learning Specialist will be joining the CCE staff in a few weeks, and they will be able to offer more programming to the Community Engaged Scholars. Jordan also envisions the program including more spaces for students to come together, and “the chance to leverage student expertise on how to involve yourself in social change.” With many first years joining the program, she hopes that students went away from the meeting “feeling like they are a part of something, and that community engagement is a part of the culture here at CC.”

Are you interested in becoming a Community Engaged Scholar, or would you like to know more about the program? Visit the CCE website, https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/cce/students/community-engaged-scholars/, for more information.

Every year, our office is privileged to witness our students, faculty and community partners work together to do some truly amazing things. The young men and women we work with use their passion and their intellect to engage with the community in creative and often complex ways to help make this a better place for everyone.  Although we would like to recognize everyone, there are some people in particular we would like to acknowledge. Below are the recipients (1 professor, 1 community organization, and 4 students) of our annual awards , nominated by their peers and selected by the CCE staff.

We would also like to recognize all of the students who have completed the Community Engaged Leadership Certificate and Community Engaged Scholars program.

Congratulations to them all, and we look forward to an even better year in 2017-18!

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT RECOGNITION AWARDS

The following awards and certificates will be presented at a recognition event, on Thusday, May 4th:

Awards

Faculty:

Exemplary Achievement in Community-Engaged Teaching

This award honors a faculty member who has artfully woven teaching and learning with community-based work in transformative and innovative ways. Recipients of this award encourage students to make powerful connections between theory and practice, support the development of civic-skill building and civic identity, and prepare liberal arts students to engage as agents of change in a complex and challenging world. Recipient:  Professor Christina Leza

Community:

Outstanding Community Partner Award

This award honors community partners who collaborate with the campus community in partnerships that impact the common good, meaningfully engage students, and provide opportunities for students to learn and grow. By community partner, we mean a non-profit or government agency with whom the campus partners to improve the quality of life of the Colorado Springs community.  Recipients of this award support collaborative initiatives to positively impact social change through reciprocal, sustainable partnerships and contribute to student development through encouraging systems-level thinking, and promote the development of civic skill-building and civic identity.  Recipient: Lutheran Family Services

Students:

Outstanding Engagement with K-12 Youth

This award honors a student in any year, who has done outstanding work in a K-12 education setting. Recipients of this award show an awareness and deep understanding of educational issues, and demonstrate a commitment to fostering the development and achievement of youth. This award recognizes ongoing positive community impact in K-12 student learning and success.  ​Recipient:  Nan Elpers

Exceptional Promise in Social Justice Award

This award honors a lower-division student who shows exemplary promise as a champion of social justice, applying and integrating their liberal arts learning to community-based work in thoughtful, intentional ways. Recipients of this award show a deep and abiding commitment to societal change at the grassroots level, and serve as exemplary models of engagement and empathy, inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. Recipient: Sarah Kang

Award for Outstanding Community Service

This award is presented to a graduating senior who, through commitment to community service, best exemplifies the ideals of a liberal arts and sciences education. Over the years at Colorado College, this student has been consistently dedicated to promoting an ethic of community engagement and involving others in understanding the civic and social challenges of our world. A monetary award, endowed by the Class of 1981, accompanies this award.  Recipient:  Emma Kepes

Anabel and Jerry McHugh Director’s Award

Established in 1996, The Anabel and Jerry McHugh Director’s Award is presented to a graduating senior who has made a significant contribution to the enhancement of the Collaborative for Community Engagement at Colorado College. This award does not recognize the particulars of a student’s engaged work as much as it recognizes the overall effort of a student to promote a culture of responsible community engagement and to promote the CCE. A monetary award, endowed by a private donor and the Board of Trustees, accompanies this award.  Recipient:  Emma Brachtenbach

Certificates

Community Engaged Leaders

This distinction honors students who have developed into civic leaders committed to solving complex social issues.  Community Engaged Leaders develop their civic capacities by adopting leadership roles within community-engaged work and implementing a senior capstone project that culminates their college experience and impacts the common good. Recipients:  Jay Hartman, Austin Lukondi, Nicole Tan, Madelene Travis

Community Engaged Scholars

This distinction honors students who have engaged in sustained, informed, and deliberate community engagement.  Community Engaged Scholars have consistently engaged in community work throughout their undergraduate careers and have regularly made an effort to learn from and apply learning to engaged experience. Recipients: Cheryn Aouaj, Ellen Atkinson, Stephanie Bui, Barbora Hanzalova, Emily Kautz, Emma Kepes, Morgan Mulhern, Genia Niemeyer, Rayna Nolen, Madeline Polese, Julia Terman, Maggie Turner, Avukile (Jennifer) Zoya

On April 19th, Professor Marty Slayden (Department of Spanish and Portuguese) and her Spanish 101 class hosted a group of ELL (English Language Learners) students from Helen Keller Elementary.  The kids met in Bemis Lounge and shared stories that the CC students had written in both English and Spanish.  One of the students, Israel Ashiagbor, wrote a very moving story about some children whose father is deported, and yet through their own strength and resilience they end up receiving scholarships one day to Colorado College. He also wrote a song to go with the story and taught the song to everyone while he played it on the piano.

Afterwards, the kids were taken on a tour of campus and played soccer outside of Barnes.  Then everyone went to Rastall for lunch, where the kids got to pile their plates with french fries, pizza and cookies!

Congratulations to Professor Slayden and her students for such a creative and engaging opportunity to incorporate our local youth.  Thanks for letting us share in the adventure!

City Year is an education focused, nonprofit organization that unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service aimed at keeping students in school and on track to graduation. At City Year’s 28 urban locations across the United States and two international affiliates, teams of trained young people called AmeriCorps members serve full-time in schools during the academic year as tutors, mentors and role models. By focusing on attendance, behavior and course performance, which identify students who are at risk of not graduating on time, AmeriCorps members are uniquely positioned to help students and schools succeed.

For more information, click the link below!

AmeriCorps Member One Pager_10.31.16

Want to help Colorado Springs solve the city’s most gripping problems? The Quad Partnership (including CC, PPCC, UCCS, and USAFA) is offering their signature Summer Intensive program in the month of June. Participants will spend a month creating and validating a possible solution to one of the region’s most compelling problems as identified by various major organizations in town. These problems range from addressing homelessness, spreading rooftop solar with Colorado Springs Utilities, or addressing food insecurity in the city. The program is open to current students and alumni within 2 years of graduation, with stipends of up to $1000. Attend the info session next Tuesday, April 11th at 2PM in the Morreale Carriage House. To apply, click here. The deadline is April 24th at midnight!

Deepening Partnerships with Community Engaged Scholars and Leaders

In an effort to provide more timely and accessible information, we have decided that this format will work better than our previous newsletter, “The Difference.”  Past issues of that publication can be found via the link in the header.  We are also providing links for anyone interested in being a guest contributor, suggestions for future content, or for any questions about information presented, what our office does, or how you can get involved.  We hope that you find the information shared here to be enjoyable and enlightening!