Non-traditional student and social work major Amanda Smith was recently named a 2017 Newman Civic Fellow. This national fellowship, offered through Campus Compact, recognizes and supports community-committed students invested in finding solutions to challenges facing their communities.
The one-year fellowship, which begins this fall, will provide Smith with learning opportunities to develop the skills needed to serve as an effective agent of change in the community. It includes access to in-person and virtual learning opportunities, networking events and mentoring.
Smith is a volunteer with the Shippensburg Community Resource Coalition, whose mission is to increase community access to social services and youth programs. She chairs the coalition’s Booty Bundle Diaper Bank, which provides for families struggling to afford diapers.
As a volunteer with Shippensburg Produce and Outreach, Smith helps to distribute fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, cheese and lean meats to community members facing food insecurities. She also established the Circle of Love, a nonprofit clothing bank for the underserved.
Motivated by her own personal adversity as a widow and single parent of two children, Smith is dedicated to helping the community and looks forward to the experience the Newman Civic Fellowship offers.
“Serving those in the community is thought to be a kind gesture for those in need, but in reality the real benefit goes to the person serving. Never has my heart been so full,” she said.
Fellows are nominated by college and university presidents and chancellors to acknowledge motivation and potential in public leadership. Smith is one of 273 selected for 2017.
