Civic Scholar
Make Real Change Happen
Engage in your community to cultivate lasting positive impact.
Sometimes, it's hard to wrestle with how you can change your community for the good. But it all starts at a local level. To improve your world, you must start small, and that starts with civic engagement. If you want to become more civically engaged and have sophomore standing, apply to the Civic Scholars Leadership program.
Schedule
At the end of the program, you'll be recognized for successful completion of the program by the Center for Civic Engagement, Chamber of Commerce and Mayor’s Office at a celebration event.
Fall Semester
Community Awareness
In this course, you'll visit community organizations like the Neville Public Museum, the Wildlife Sanctuary, Community Foundation and Titletown Tech. Community leaders from these organizations teach you about the opportunities and challenges facing Green Bay. Throughout this semester, you'll:
- Explore your own civic identity.
- Gain knowledge of civic, nonprofit and business infrastructure in the Greater Green Bay area.
- Strengthen your ability to analyze complex social issues
- Connect and apply knowledge from your civic engagement experiences back to your areas of study.
Spring Semester
Practical Involvement
The spring semester takes all of the knowledge you learned in the fall and allows you to apply it through an internship. You can earn 1-3 academic credits, equating to 50-150 work hours over the 14-week semester. Past community partners that have hosted interns include:
- Chamber of Commerce
- Boys & Girls Club
- City of Green Bay - Community and Economic Development Dept.
- Neville Public Museum
- Brown County Health
Impact At a Glance
In 2024, 20 students participated in the program.
Improving Leadership
Up to 90% of our Scholars continue to take on leadership roles after participating in the program. These roles include serving as executive board members of student organizations, peer mentors, Newman Civic Fellows, New Rising Scholar Mentors and Student Ambassadors.
Helping the Community
Together, 15 interns contributed a total of 1,125 volunteer hours, resulting in an impact value of $25,948. They interned at 17 partner sites across Green Bay, including Conservation Corps, Every Town for Gun Safety and the Mayor's Office.
Providing a Range of Knowledge
Cohorts represent a wide range of academic disciplines, including Business, Political Science, History and Environmental Science.
Gather for the Feast
Join us for Fundraising, Engagement and Allocation of Sweet Treats (FEAST).
As a Civic Scholar, FEAST represents the culmination of your first semester experience in the program, highlighting your efforts to address real-world challenges facing the local community through creative project proposals led by you. Together with fellow Civic Scholars, you'll conceptualize initiatives designed to improve the quality of life for residents. Drawing from coursework, community site visits and lessons in civic engagement, the Scholars craft comprehensive proposals that include clear goals, objectives, budgets and strategies for community collaboration. The happenings at the FEAST will include:
- Civic Scholars pitching proposals in concise 3 to 5-minute presentations to an audience of peers, campus members and community stakeholders.
- Attendees participating in a peer voting process to allocate funds raised during the event to the most compelling project.
- The audience votes determine which group selects a community organization to receive the funds raised as well as provides valuable feedback to the Civic Scholars.
- Those receiving the top five votes are nominated to apply for the prestigious Newman Civic Fellowship, a national program that supports student leaders committed to community engagement and social change.
- And, of course, get sweet treats!
Host a Civic Scholar
It is only thanks to the support of our community partners that we're able to develop civic-minded scholars. We welcome representatives from partner organizations who are willing to shepherd an intern or express interest in joining our fall visit agenda. Get in touch with us if you'd like to become a community partner!
Meet a
Phoenix
"The Center for Civic Engagement allowed me to get a glimpse at what being civically engaged looks like as an adult, and how I am able to sustain that once I left college. It isn’t easy balancing school, work, and other extracurriculars on top of helping others, but having that opportunity to create that delicate balance has really helped me focus my priorities more. It has also helped me to become a better leader, as I have had the opportunity to present in front of Boards of Directors, got to speak about my experience being a peer mentor during the IDI Panel in 2024, and was able to reflect on my overall college experience as the December 2024 commencement speaker."
Brady Reinhard '24
Political Science Major | Teacher
Alumni Updates
Do you have a new internship, job, career accomplishment or other good news that you would like to share with us? Fill out the form below to keep us up to date!
Ask An Expert
Professor David Coury serves a lot of roles throughout the community—he’s the Co-Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and Partnerships as well as the Center for Civic Engagement, and the Director for the Green Bay Film Society. If you have questions about becoming a civic scholar, he can help.