We CU recognizes students for their service and impact in the CU community

5/25/2022 10:09:09 AM

On Wednesday, May 11, the We CU Community Engaged Scholars program hosted its annual recognition ceremony to honor students who served with community partners during the past summer, fall, and spring sessions. Students and community partners were recognized for their contributions to key areas of need: social justice, health and mental wellness, youth advocacy and education, combating isolation, community outreach and education, arts and culture, and language justice and immigrant services.

To date, 1973 University of Illinois students from 12 colleges have worked to complete 36,854 hours of training and service on 516 service projects. This year, 356 students and their community partners were recognized for their service and 54 of those students were honored as We CU Community Engaged Scholars for completing 20 hours of service during the summer, fall or spring sessions.

While the focus of the annual celebration is on recognizing and encouraging Illinois students in their service work, these tremendous impacts are a result of collaborations across campus and in the community. In the past year, We CU has partnered with 200 community partners and 70 service-learning courses to match students with projects. "Our community partners offered wonderful experiences to our students to grow their academic and professional skillsets. Our students showed great commitment to their service projects, sometimes remotely and sometimes in person, during another challenging pandemic year. We are grateful to all of the community partners, faculty and students who work together to support our local community." We CU Co-Director Emily Stone said.

Alyssa Holguin
Alyssa Holguin is a 2022 We CU Scholar

Alyssa Holguin, a sophomore studying Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, discussed the growth she experienced during her service with The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District during We CU’s Summer 2021 session. “I learned and still carry with me the importance and value of continuously reaching outside your level of knowledge and skill as it helps you grow and develop as an individual as well as form new interests that you never thought you would,” she said.

In addition to personal growth, student participants shared how their service helped deepen their connection to the community, something Chancellor Robert Jones underscored in a congratulatory message to the scholars. "Individually you have each distinguished yourself by your commitment to service to others. And collectively, you have come together to build important new relationships and collaborations with organizations and agencies throughout our entire community. Your service hasn’t just helped those throughout the community. It has truly helped create stronger connections between the university and our surrounding cities and county," said Chancellor Jones.

We CU also recognized the first cohort of We CU Distinguished Scholars for dedicating 200 or more hours to serving the needs of the Champaign-Urbana community

during their college experience. Five students received this honor, including:

  •  Julie Poel, rising senior in elementary education and Spanish (270 hours)
  • Nicole Zhang, 2022 graduate in accountancy and finance (264 hours)
  • Isabel Gleason, 2022 graduate in music education (971 hours)
  • Daniel Kaufman, rising senior in bioengineering (206 hours)
  • Cherish Recera, 2021 graduate in English and community health (269 hours)
Illinois alumnae Isabel Gleason (L) and Cherish Recera (R) were among five We CU Distinguished Scholars. 
Illinois alumnae Isabel Gleason (L) and Cherish Recera (R) were among five We CU Distinguished Scholars. 

Isabel Gleason and Cherish Recera shared what they gained from their experience in the program. Isabel discussed how service helped her grow in her role as an aspiring educator. “It really helped me to figure out the needs of the learners in the community, which have such a vast range for the age groups and musical backgrounds.”

Cherish, a 2021 graduate of the University of Illinois, shed light on how her experience serving with Chicago Department of Public Health and Cress Health, continues to influence her in her role as communications coordinator at Abbott. “It has encouraged me to be more proactive about sharing my thoughts and taking ownership of projects.”

We CU program leadership congratulated the scholars on this special distinction. "We want to extend a huge congratulations to our very first cohort of We CU Distinguished Scholars. Your dedication and hard work are an inspiration to us all. Congratulations on this remarkable accomplishment," said We CU Co-Director Katie Shumway.  

The recording of the ceremony and list of volunteers and scholars by college are now available and posted on the We CU website.  

After a summer hiatus to fine-tune training and organization, We CU will continue programming during the 2022- 2023 academic year.  For more information about joining We CU, visit wecu.illinois.edu/join-we-cu.