Junior Brianna Silva Announced as UR's Latest Newman Civic Fellow

March 11, 2021

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — University of Richmond junior Brianna Silva, of Princeton, New Jersey, has been announced as a 2021 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a national coalition of more than 1,000 colleges and universities. 

Silva is double-majoring in political science and journalism and minoring in education and society. She is a Bonner Scholar and currently serves as a Congressional Intern for Senator Cory Booker as a participant in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Internship program.

Silva has a long record of dedicating her time to serving Latinx communities, completing an internship with the Latin American Legal Defense & Education Fund, and volunteering with the International Rescue Committee and Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. She is president of the Scholars Latino Initiative, where she mentors Latinx students in Richmond Public Schools.

She also recently launched Masks4Richmond, a small business where customers can purchase a mask for themselves and donate a mask to someone else. She has donated masks to Sacred Heart Center, a Richmond nonprofit connecting Latinx families with tools to thrive and flourish, and fundraises for the Center’s food bank. 

“Brianna has dedicated her service to supporting Latinx communities in Richmond and across the country with passion and creativity,” said UR President Ronald A. Crutcher, in his letter to the application committee.

Silva was recently announced as one of three University of Richmond students to be chosen to participate in the Public Policy and International Affairs Program’s Junior Summer Institute. She was also honored for her service at the University of Richmond’s Bonner Center for Civic Engagement Engage for Change award ceremony.

“As a first-generation college student and child of immigrants it has been very important to me to serve Latinx communities, and I plan to pursue a dual degree in social policy and public administration, so I can continue this important work.”

This latest award marks the fourth consecutive year that a University of Richmond student has been selected for a Newman Civic Fellowship. The yearlong program aims to foster personal, professional, and civic growth for students who have demonstrated a capacity for leadership and an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country.

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