Drew U Celebrates Inaugural Graduating Class of Action Scholars

Press release from Drew University:

MADISON, NJ – This spring, the Drew University Center for Civic Engagement is preparing to celebrate the first graduating class of Action Scholars.

During their time at Drew, the 37 graduating Action Scholars have given back to the Madison community and communities across the globe through a wide variety of projects, including volunteering with the Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps, coordinating student service trips through Volunteer Without Borders, and implementing new diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives on campus.

“The Center for Civic Engagement exists to ensure we educate not only productive workers, but also engaged and effective citizens,” said Sean Hewitt, Director of the Center for Civic Engagement. “This year’s graduating class of Action Scholars is an inspiring group of young people who have made the choice to center service throughout their college experience. They have made incredible contributions to Drew’s community as part of this program, and I am sure they will go on to continue their impact on public good after graduation.”

The Center for Civic Engagement at Drew University was established in 2008 to infuse civic engagement as a value and practice throughout the university. The Center connects community-focused, experiential education across all of Drew’s schools, while also strengthening student-led community engagement outside the classroom.

The Action Scholars program is a unique, hands-on, take-action program for students who are passionate about leading social change. The two-year program, with a four-year scholarship, is open to students across all academic disciplines and is driven by a distinctive, results- and action-oriented approach to real-world problem-solving. There are currently 200 Action Scholars in the program.

Class of 2024 Action Scholars

The 37 members of the 2024 graduating class of Action Scholars exemplifies the variety of ways students in the program give back to Madison and other communities in New Jersey and across the globe.

Eniyah Garner, a biology major, put what she learned in the classroom to use as the student liaison between Drew University and the Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps (MVAC). Eniyah facilitated student involvement in MVAC’s cadet program, which provided opportunities for students to shadow EMTs.

"The biology field has so much to offer beyond research. Volunteerism has been part of my life from an early age, so finding ways to bring what I was learning in the classroom together with my commitment to community service was important to me,” said Garner. “The Action Scholars program at Drew University allowed me to carry that part of my life through my undergraduate experience. Being part of this community not only made it easier to stay involved with what I enjoy, but it also provided me with a supportive network of like-minded individuals who share my passion for service."

Ange Wunderle has been instrumental in organizing service trips for Drew students through Volunteer Without Borders, an entirely student-run organization that provides immersive service experiences for Drew students. This past winter, Wunderle organized and led a trip to New Orleans.

Reflecting on her experience, Wunderle noted that the Action Scholars program helped her connect with other students who share her passion for service. "My time volunteering as a student tutor in high school sparked my interest in service. The Action Scholars program allowed me to join a community of students who share my passion for service. Many of my friends that I met through Action Scholars have pursued different majors, and I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to meet them."

Soon after he started at Drew, Eden Linton attended a film festival hosted by Cinema Ed, a nonprofit that uses independent film as a teaching tool. The experience not only drove Linton’s choice of major, it also inspired him to get involved with organizing Filmboot24, Cinema Ed’s annual 24-hour film competition that provides experiential learning opportunities for Orange High School students to work with Drew college students and professional mentors to develop short films and explore careers in the filmmaking industry. Now some of the students who participated in Filmboot24 are Action Scholars themselves.

"Watching our work with Cinema Ed grow from a small group of Drew students visiting Orange High School to hosting high school students and giving them campus tours has been extremely rewarding,” said Linton. “Watching former mentees transition into Drew students, and some even becoming Action Scholars themselves, exemplifies the lasting impact of this program.”

Chekwube Okunowo chose to make her mark on campus by serving in student government. As the chair of the Racial Justice Committee, Okunowo worked with the administration to implement programs to make sure students and faculty of color feel embraced and supported on campus, including instituting DEI training for faculty and staff and working to increase the diversity of campus therapists available to students.

Now an intern with the Democratic National Committee while she prepares to start graduate school in the fall, Okunowo said, "I’ve loved how the Action Scholars program allowed me to craft the program to fit my style of community engagement. Shaping the program to fit my interests has allowed me to make a real difference in the areas that matter to me, and the skills I’ve gained through Action Scholars have been invaluable in helping me secure internships, allowing me to further my professional development. My time as an Action Scholar has been a key part of my college experience and provided me with the experience and confidence to help me pursue my interests after graduation."

More information about the Action Scholars program, including additional stories of student-led community initiatives, are available here.

Drew University, a Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts university, includes the College of Liberal Arts, Drew Theological School, and the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. Drew is located on a beautiful, wooded campus in Madison, New Jersey.

Drew University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 students and has 136 full-time faculty members. The Theological and Caspersen schools offer master’s and doctoral degrees, and the College confers BA and BS degrees in 40 disciplines, with 59 available minors, and offers 17 pre-professional and 18 dual-degree programs.

Drew also houses the Center on Religion, Culture & Conflict, the Center for Holocaust/Genocide Study, and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, an independent professional theater, as well as the United Methodist Archives and History Center and one of the country’s leading concentrations of materials on Willa Cather.

This press release was produced by Drew University. The views expressed here are the author's own