Civic Engagement Teams
August 10, 2012
New structure helps maximize student engagement at the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement
Hunched over data and sifting through records, a group of students is quietly proving that civic engagement can also mean mining and mapping data, analyzing gaps, and hitting the library to help advance projects at the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement.
These students make up the research team working behind the scenes to shape programs and provide support for faculty and staff at the CCE. Two additional working groups — communications and events — publicize and plan engagement programs on campus and in the community.
The CCE adopted this model to give more ownership and autonomy of projects to students, says Adrienne Piazza, coordinator for student development and programming. To enrich the working environment for the students, who often commit for multiple years, staff studied how to divide the CCE needs into areas that students could best support. They formed three working groups – communications, events, and research.
“What we discovered is that it allowed them to get to know each other better, to have a sense of projects in pieces and as a whole, and to really focus training on individual skills for the students,” Piazza explained. Students select what team best fits their strengths, interests, and professional development aspirations.
Piazza and Jess Hofbauer, another coordinator at the CCE, expanded those personal development opportunities earlier this year by designating three students as team leaders. The leaders met regularly with Piazza and Hofbauer and helped manage projects and delegate tasks to the working groups.
“Staff members are often times pulled in a hundred different directions, but they’re still academics at heart,” says Matthew Chmielewski, ’12. “This is a way for them to continue the work they do and for us to help them out but also enhance and develop our own research skills.”
Chmielewski led the research team, which included Fran Del Rosario, ’12; Dillon Massey, ’15; and Christian Terlecki, ’13. They worked on a diverse set of projects that will shape how the CCE approaches its mission and community partners.
For example, Massey helped Chmielewski mine and map census data in order to shine light on the needs of Richmond’s poorer Hispanic communities. Their work will guide the city’s Hispanic Liaison Office when training volunteers or applying for grant funding.
Other projects contribute directly to the CCE or faculty academic work. Del Rosario conducted a gap analysis that will help the CCE identify shortcomings and opportunities for growth on campus. And Terlecki reviewed literature and researched housing activism with Dr. Amy Howard, CCE executive director.
“Doing this research was a unique kind of civic engagement.” Massey says of his project. “It’s behind the scenes but it directly affects a lot of people.”
The CCE staff couldn’t agree more.
“That team really epitomizes our mission,” Piazza says. “We have three pillars — the students, faculty and community members. And they’re working with all three of those areas.”
Both Piazza and Hofbauer hope to keep growing leadership training and development among all three of the working groups in the coming year. From their perspective, the groups help develop student potential and also enabled the staff to focus on expanding the footprint of the CCE on campus and in the city of Richmond.
“We have awesome students,” Piazza says. “They really double our staff and, in the last two years, have doubled our capacity.”
These students make up the research team working behind the scenes to shape programs and provide support for faculty and staff at the CCE. Two additional working groups — communications and events — publicize and plan engagement programs on campus and in the community.
The CCE adopted this model to give more ownership and autonomy of projects to students, says Adrienne Piazza, coordinator for student development and programming. To enrich the working environment for the students, who often commit for multiple years, staff studied how to divide the CCE needs into areas that students could best support. They formed three working groups – communications, events, and research.
“What we discovered is that it allowed them to get to know each other better, to have a sense of projects in pieces and as a whole, and to really focus training on individual skills for the students,” Piazza explained. Students select what team best fits their strengths, interests, and professional development aspirations.
Piazza and Jess Hofbauer, another coordinator at the CCE, expanded those personal development opportunities earlier this year by designating three students as team leaders. The leaders met regularly with Piazza and Hofbauer and helped manage projects and delegate tasks to the working groups.
“Staff members are often times pulled in a hundred different directions, but they’re still academics at heart,” says Matthew Chmielewski, ’12. “This is a way for them to continue the work they do and for us to help them out but also enhance and develop our own research skills.”
Chmielewski led the research team, which included Fran Del Rosario, ’12; Dillon Massey, ’15; and Christian Terlecki, ’13. They worked on a diverse set of projects that will shape how the CCE approaches its mission and community partners.
For example, Massey helped Chmielewski mine and map census data in order to shine light on the needs of Richmond’s poorer Hispanic communities. Their work will guide the city’s Hispanic Liaison Office when training volunteers or applying for grant funding.
Other projects contribute directly to the CCE or faculty academic work. Del Rosario conducted a gap analysis that will help the CCE identify shortcomings and opportunities for growth on campus. And Terlecki reviewed literature and researched housing activism with Dr. Amy Howard, CCE executive director.
“Doing this research was a unique kind of civic engagement.” Massey says of his project. “It’s behind the scenes but it directly affects a lot of people.”
The CCE staff couldn’t agree more.
“That team really epitomizes our mission,” Piazza says. “We have three pillars — the students, faculty and community members. And they’re working with all three of those areas.”
Both Piazza and Hofbauer hope to keep growing leadership training and development among all three of the working groups in the coming year. From their perspective, the groups help develop student potential and also enabled the staff to focus on expanding the footprint of the CCE on campus and in the city of Richmond.
“We have awesome students,” Piazza says. “They really double our staff and, in the last two years, have doubled our capacity.”