#CLDE18 Recommended Sessions for Students

 

By the #CLDE18 Student Interns

In preparing for #CLDE18, we hope that you’ve taken the opportunity to read through the 2018 Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement program and plan what sessions you would like to attend. In order to make your planning a bit easier, we wanted to share with you some of the sessions that we are most excited to be part of.

We recommend that all students attend the Student Pre-Con on Wednesday. If you can’t make it, no worries. We will be meeting up every evening throughout the conference, so there will be plenty of opportunities to connect with other students.

Here are the student intern recommendations for #CLDE18 sessions that you should attend:

Vera’s Pick:

“Reacting to Democracy”:  Immersive Civic Learning through Historical Role-Playing Games

Day:          Wednesday, June 6
Time:         9:00 am – Noon
Location:   Madrid

What better way to engage students in civic learning than games?  This immersive role-playing experience will give students a chance to “walk in others’ shoes” and arguing their characters’ perspectives. This practice will engage students intellectually and emotionally, which opens up students’ horizons that would help increase their understanding of multitudes of viewpoints.

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Hannah’s Pick:

Diverse Campus Democracies: Non-Partisan Civic Engagement at the Center of Inclusivity

Day:                Saturday, June 9

Time:               11:00 am -12:30 pm

Location:         Garden 1

As a student leader, I ask myself every day how I can help make my campus community more inclusive. This session provides tangible methods on how institutions can create inclusive campus climates through non-partisan civic engagement efforts. From residence hall directors, graduate students, program managers, and researchers, the presenters in this session come from a variety of different perspectives. I can’t wait to learn from and hopefully implement some of these best practices.

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Collin’s Pick:

Crafting a New Civic Story

Day:                Friday, June 8

Time:               4pm-5:30pm

Location:         Salon 1

I’m pretty biased on this one since some of my greatest mentors are leading this session! I think one of the best parts about my undergraduate experience, without really being aware, is how engrossed my campus is into civic life. Changing the civic ethos must involve everyone on campus — including students. I’m looking forward to sharing a part of UMBC’s story, our BreakingGround initiative, and the conversations thereafter!

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Special Shout Out:

The Student Government Activist: Facilitating Real Democratic Engagement

Day:                Friday, June 8

Time:               8am-9am

Location:         Salon 8

Wake up bright and early for this session with two of our own, Hannah and Collin! We will be discussing our experiences as leaders in student government, and also exploring how student governments can do real work on our campuses and in or community to make meaningful change.

We can’t wait to see you at #CLDE18. Want to get connected with other students? Follow us: @CLDEstudents.

10 Things Students Should Know Before Attending #CLDE18

By the #CLDE18 Student Interns

In order to make the most of your #CLDE18 experience as a #CLDEStudents, check out these ten things to do before arriving in Anaheim.

10 Things Students Should Know Before Attending #CLDE18:

1. Where do I register? Registration information is located on the AASCU website. Make sure to also register for the Student Pre-conference Workshop happening on Wednesday (it’s free!). 
2. Where do I stay? The designated conference hotel is the Hyatt Regency Orange County. Make sure to book your room as a CLDE attendee! Note: the group rate expires May 15 and rooms are filling fast, so book soon!
3. How do I prepare? If there is a group of student, faculty, and staff coming from your institution, set up a meeting before traveling to #CLDE18. Have the agenda in front of you and create a plan on who is going to each session. You want to make sure that you are learning and sharing as much as possible to bring back to campus and your community, so try to and make sure that you are each going to different sessions!Create your profile in the conference mobile app once the login information is sent to you about a week before the conference – add a clear headshot photo and your social media accounts.
4. What do I wear? Dress professionally, but wear something you will feel comfortable and confident in! You’ll be doing a lot of walking, so plan your footwear accordingly. Most people you will run into at #CLDE18 will be wearing business casual. Also, pack layers; sometimes conference hotels can fluctuate with air conditioners so you’ll want to be prepared.
5. What do I bring to each session? Make sure to bring your notebook and a pen to your sessions so you can jot down everything you want to bring back to your institution. You will also be connecting with many people, so have your social media accounts ready to share. If you have business cards, be sure to bring them with you! It also might be a good idea to bring a water bottle and some snacks to have throughout the day.
6. Where do I eat? For lunch, we recommend getting a quick bite to eat. You will want to make sure to make it back in time for your afternoon sessions! Some quick options are: Tusca and the OC Brewhouse if you would like to stay inside of the hotel. Del Taco, Subway, Pizza Hut, and WaBa Grill are also nearby. Additionally, there are some great restaurants in the surrounding area that are easy to walk to, like Citrus Grove Deli, Joe’s Crab Shack, La Casa Garcia, MasalaCraft Indian Cuisine, Outback Steakhouse, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Sunspot – An American Grill.
7. Can I go to Disneyland? Yes! For all attendees of CLDE18, you can enjoy a discounted twilight entry to Disneyland or California Adventure Parks. We’ll send the discount link once you’re registered.
   
   The Hyatt Regency (meeting hotel) offers shuttle services to and from the Disney Parks every 30 minutes at $6/person, with the last pick-up half an hour after the park closes.
8. Where are some other places to visit? We recommend taking some time to explore Anaheim while you are not in sessions!  There are so many things to do, like shopping, music & nightlife, and arts and culture.
9. How do I connect with other students? We are so happy that you asked! First, make sure to follow @CLDEstudents on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. On our pages, we will be updating everyone about important information throughout the conference. Additionally, connect with the student interns on social media! You can find Hannah, Collin, and Vera on Twitter. Take lots of pictures and post in our social media Don’t forget to use the conference hashtag – #CLDE18.
10. What is the most important thing to remember? Take this opportunity to learn as much as you can and have fun!

CIVIC LEARNING & DEMOCRATIC ENGAGEMENT (CLDE) PROFILES

We’re asking some of the people you might encounter at the Civic Learning & Democratic Engagement meeting in Anaheim, California including the event planners and coordinators, presenters, faculty, staff, administrators, and students to answer a few questions about themselves and their experiences. Fill out our form and follow us @CLDEstudents to share your story for #CLDE18!

To start our series, we wanted to share with you why we’re passionate about civic learning and democratic engagement.

– Hannah, Collin & Vera, #CLDE18 Student Interns

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Hannah has worked to increase representation within the student government at the University of Nevada, Reno. In November, she helped lead the ElectHer workshop to encourage more women to run for office.

Name: Hannah Jackson
Hometown: Reno, Nevada
Current City: Reno, Nevada
Field of Study: Journalism, Education, Political Science
Institution: The University of Nevada, Reno

What is your current title, job, or student organization position?
I am currently a student government officer in the Associated Students of the University of Nevada, where I serve as Speaker of the Senate. I am also a student employee in the Vice President for Student Services office. Outside of campus life, I am Nevada’s state alumni representative for the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program. 

Share with us part of your story – what’s your why?
During my senior year of high school, I took part in the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program. For those of you that don’t know, We the People is a K-12 civic education program that is dedicated to promoting the understanding of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and responsible citizenship. Of course, I came out of the class with a much better understanding of our government and its founding (not to mention a few hundred Supreme Court cases), but I will carry some of the other lessons that I have learned with me for the rest of my life.

We the People taught me how to love learning. It also taught me the magnitude of my individual power as a citizen. It has been incredibly empowering, and quite honestly, has changed the course of my life completely. I feel a huge responsibility to play part in getting others to realize their individual power – and that is my why.

(I am forever thankful for Mr. Clark, Mr. Daniel, Mr. Karlin, Mr. Ochs, and all of my other civic educators that have changed my life – and so many other lives. You inspire me every day!)

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Name: Collin Sullivan
Hometown: Elkridge, MD (right outside of Baltimore)
Current City: Still Elkridge!
Field of Study: Information Systems & Economics
Institution: University of Maryland, Baltimore County – UMBC

What is your current title, job, or student organization position?
I am a student at UMBC, where I am involved with the SGA and I work in Instructional Technology. 

Share with us part of your story – what’s your why?
I’d like to think that I’ve been given a certain amount of energy to consistently ask, “Why?” and failing to accept the answer, “because.”  I’m fortunate enough that I genuinely can’t think of a time when I would ask my parents something and their response would simply be, “no” – there would always be some explanation. “No, you can’t have a third cookie because you won’t be hungry at dinner time,” was an explanation I heard often and while I was upset at that notion, I knew that my parents were probably right. When I was in 3rd grade, I asked my parents, “Can I get a laptop?” to which they responded to, “No, unless you buy it.” I was in 3rd grade eyeballing a $1,000 computer – how could I do this? But I did. I offered to complete chores in exchange for an allowance, and I also asked that for birthday and Christmas gifts that I would receive gift cards instead of presents. Two years later, and after doing some research that an adjacent state doesn’t have sales tax, I bought my first laptop at 10 years old “by myself” (I’m fully aware that my parents still ended up paying for my laptop, but it was a great sense of accomplishment after it felt like I had waited an interminable amount of time).

That’s my why.

I’ve learned in life we hear so many “no’s” – from our parents, our teachers, our bosses, even ourselves. But every “no” shouldn’t be taken as a given. And when we hear a lot of “no’s,” it’s hard to get back up and say, “yes.” How can we, collectively as a society, have more “yes” moments, even if that means we were told “no” to begin with? I believe the world is malleable to change and in time a “no” will become a “yes,” but only with persistence from someone who has fallen down and got back up. There are a lot of people like that in the world – now we just need to figure out how to amplify their voices. That’s why I’m doing what I do now.

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During her time as a student at the College of the Canyons, Vera created The HUB, a club on campus. Her club engages in multiple civic and democratic engagement activities, such as holding food drives.

Name: Vera Barcega-Ramirez
Hometown: Santa Clarita, CA
Current City: Santa Clarita, CA
Field of Study: Human Resource Management
Institution: College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, CA

What is your current title, job, or student organization position?
I wear a lot of hats, namely:

• Student at College of the Canyons taking Human Resource Management Certification
• President and Founder of The HUB Club at College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, CA
• Student Representative at the College of the Canyons Foundation First-Year-Promise Taskforce
• VP-Membership at Oak Hills Elementary PTA in Santa Clarita, CA
• Accounting/HR/Purchasing Support (Independent Contractor) at Laser Operations in Sylmar, CA

Share with us part of your story – what’s your why?
I’ve been working in the corporate industry for a couple of decades.  When my daughter was born 11 years ago, I decided to leave my full-time job of 10 years and work as a temporary employee/independent contractor so I may spend quality time with my daughter in-between assignments.  Out of the more than dozen companies I worked at in the past 11 years, I noticed a sad reality that only 2 of these companies valued employees.  Humanity has gone down through the years.  Perhaps it might be due to the over-supply of workers.  I saw management cared less for their people and only focused on meeting their numbers.  I became passionate about bringing back humanity in the workforce, which is why I went back to school, and also why I accepted to be nominated for the CLDE internship.

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We want to hear your story! Fill out our form and encourage others to do the same. Make sure to follow us @CLDEstudents – we will be featuring participants on our blogs and social media.

 

 

Meet the #CLDE18 Student Interns: Vera, Hannah and Collin

We are thrilled to introduce you to our three student interns for the 2018 Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) Meeting (#CLDE18). As Vera, Hannah, and Collin introduce themselves below, please know that together they represent a vested interest in civic engagement among students in our networks to engage meaningfully on our campuses, in our classrooms, in our broader communities, and in our democracy.

Please join us in welcoming Vera, Hannah, and Collin! They have already begun to work with the CLDE18 meeting planning committee on the program, arranging a student symposium, and specifically on creating networking, learning, and organizing opportunities for the students that attend the conference in Anaheim, CA, from June 6-9th. We look forward to working with these fantastic students. Be sure to submit a program proposal by January 29th here.  

-Jen, Stephanie, and Verdis

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My name is Vera Barcega-Ramirez, and I am a human resource management student at College of the Canyons (COC) in Santa Clarita, CA.  I am also the president and founder of The HUB Club, a club that has a shared vision of building leaders; a student representative at the COC Foundation First-Year-Promise Taskforce; VP-membership at Oak Hills Elementary PTA; an accounting/HR/purchasing support independent contractor; a wife to my wonderful husband of 15 years, Eric; and, a mother to my sweet 11 year-old daughter, Skylla.

 

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My name is Hannah Jackson and I am a third-year student at University of Nevada, Reno studying education, journalism, and political science (which is the closest thing that I could get to earning a degree in civics). I am grateful to have had incredible opportunities to be involved in civic and democratic engagement during my time at the University. I am the state representative for Nevada’s We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution program, I have had the opportunity to work on a local ballot question campaign to fund infrastructure in local public schools, and I currently serve in our student government as Speaker of the Senate. All of these experiences constantly make my studies and my life more meaningful. I hope that through serving as a #CLDE18 student intern, I can help as many students as possible have the same enriching experience.

 

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My name is Collin Sullivan and I am a junior information systems and economics major, minoring in entrepreneurship & innovation at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. During my first year at UMBC, I worked to create a new, sustainable website for the Student Government Association (SGA).  As an elected SGA Senator, I created a standing committee to promote collaboration and ensure accountability within SGA. I later served as Assistant Speaker of the Senate.  In that position, I led a nonpartisan group of students promoting the 2016 presidential election through debate watch parties, trivia nights, and an election results extravaganza. I also created a new event, Coffee & Conversation: Our Political Spectrum, where students, faculty, and staff heard from diverse panelists and discussed how members of the UMBC community would find common ground on hot-button issues after a divisive election season.  Additionally, I work with the local school system to promote civic agency and digital citizenship. Last year, I served on a policy committee to advocate for fairer, more democratic elections for the student member on the Board of Education position.

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Follow us on social media for updates about the #CLDE18 conference:

Twitter:
Follow @ADPaascu
Follow @TDCNational
Follow @NASPAtweets

Facebook:
CLDE Student group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/497573360435706/

ADP Summer Civic Engagement Newsletter

Welcome to the third issue of ADP’s Civic Engagement Newsletter in our new format. We hope you’ll take a moment to catch up on our latest work and learn about upcoming events and opportunities for engagement.

As our 15th anniversary approaches in 2018, ADP is launching a campaign to fund and grow our civic learning and community engagement work. We’re focused on identifying foundations and potential donors interested in funding work to ensure students are prepared to be the informed, engaged citizens our democracy needs. If you have ideas, please be sure to share them with us at adp@aascu.org. Also, don’t miss the opportunity to apply to be an ADP Civic Fellow or a CLDE student intern!

Be sure to also subscribe to the ADP blog for the latest news and updates!

– Jen Domagal-Goldman, ADP National Manager

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Call for ADP Civic Fellow Applications

Higher education professionals and scholars have the opportunity to become ADP Civic Fellows, a new initiative of AASCU’s American Democracy Project. Civic Fellows will have the span of a one-year renewable term to develop their own research and ideas to design and advance ADP programming on a national scale. Applications are due on Friday, August 18th, 2017 and must be submitted to Jennifer Domagal-Goldman at domagalj@aascu.org. For questions, please contact Jennifer Domagal-Goldman at 202-478-7833.

Learn more about the ADP Civic Fellow opportunity here and here and find the application here.

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LEAP for Democracy Initiative

AASCU’S American Democracy Project (ADP) and FELN’s Campus Vote Project (CVP) created a new “LEAP for Democracy” initiative to involve AASCU HBCUs in nonpartisan electoral education and engagement. Participating campuses will sign up for the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) and will complete the Students Learn, Students Vote (SLSV) Checklist, including designating a point person, forming a committee, and drafting a plan for democratic engagement on campus.

ADP and CVP are in the process of working with several HBCUs from DC, MD, VA, NC, OH, and MO to develop robust, nonpartisan voter education and engagement programs. If your campus is interested in participating, please email adp@aascu.org.

Learn more about the LEAP for Democracy Initiative here.

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Call for Student #CLDE18 Interns

ADP, TDC and NASPA proudly offer the opportunity for three students to have a voice on the 2018 Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE18) Meeting planning committee. The three selected student interns will be provided free registration to the June 6-9 conference in Anaheim, Calif. in exchange for their work on the program planning committee. Interns will organize a student symposium; actively promote the conference to students through blog posts, emails and social media; coordinate student gatherings at the meeting; volunteering onsite; and participating in monthly planning calls.

Intern applications are due September 15.

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Campus Spotlight | James Madison University

Margaret M. Mulrooney, Associate Vice Provost for University Programs and Professor of History, wrote a guest blog post about liberty, learning and civic engagement at her institution, James Madison University in Virginia. Read her blog post here.

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ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge | Awards Nomination

ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, an ADP partner organization, invites you to to nominate outstanding colleagues and students for their Standout Faculty, Standout Administrator and Standout Student Awards. These awards will be granted to individuals from campuses that participate in the ALL IN Challenge on October 19, 2017 at the ALL IN Challenge Awards Ceremony in Washington, DC. Learn more about the awards here.

Nominations are due by August 31, 2017 and you can submit your nominations here.

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Save-the-Date | November 3-4, 2017 Engaged Campus Institute in DC 

Plan to join us at the AASCU offices in Washington, DC for a two-day institute for teams of up to three people per campus. Campus teams will complete an engaged campus inventory and leave the institute with a campus community engagement action plan and prepared to apply for the 2020 Carnegie Community Engaged Campus Designation (applications open spring 2018).

More information will be forthcoming; contact adp@aascu.org with questions.