ACT student is the recipient of the Newman Civic Fellowship
Ms. Karina Iskandarova, a third year student at the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT), has been awarded the Newman Civic Fellowship by Campus Compact. Campus Compact is a US coalition of 1,000+ colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. Its purpose is to build democracy through civic education and community development.
Ms. Iskandarova is studying International Relations with a full scholarship. Karina has been active in Student Government and initiated the successful collection of food and other suppliesfor the Thessaloniki's Homeless Shelter and for the refugees in the city. She applied for the Humanity in Action scholarship (through the 'Humanity in Action', an international educational organization) and for the summer scholarship for young student leaders through the Fulbright institution. Although she did not eventually receive any of the two scholarships, she was short - listed to both and went through the interview process.
More recently, she was part of a research project within the Anatolia community, the Oral History Archives Project, through the Bissell Library and received training at the Historical Archives of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece. She interviewed older members of the Anatolia community on issues of greater interest in terms of the educational, social and cultural history of Thessaloniki.
The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. The fellowship was created in honor of Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact's founders and a tireless advocate for the role of higher education in preparing students for active and engaged citizenship. It provides training and exclusive virtual and in-person learning opportunities focused on the skills fellows need in order to serve as effective agents of change. It helps students to develop strategies for achieving social change, addressing public problems and building equitable communities. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact supports the next generation of public problem solvers in their personal, professional, and civic growth.
In particular, Ms. Iskandarova will be engaged in raising awareness within the ACT and the wider Thessaloniki community regarding the UN Sustainable Development Goals and for the next year she plans to focus on the promotion of literacy and educational opportunities for Roma girls in the region of Thessalonikiunder the supervision of Dr. Maria Patsarika who will be her mentor. Later in 2018 she will be traveling to Boston for the Newman Civic Fellows National Conference that will take place on November 17-18, 2018.
