Omaha City Wire

Congratulations to those UNO students who will graduate this semester as engaged scholars. Students who earn and receive this designation connect their academic endeavors with our community.

The Community Engaged Scholarship Transcript Designation (CESTD) documents and recognizes undergraduate students for their community engagement experiences.

The Community Engaged Scholarship Transcript Designation (CESTD) documents and recognizes undergraduate students for their community engagement experiences.

Fall 2022 Graduates Recognized and Engaged Scholars

Sophie Irakoze

College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

"I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Community Engaged Scholarship Transcript Designation. My experiences in this program gave me a better outlook on my professional and personal goals. As a new public health professional, I plan to work with various underserved populations in my work and community service. This program exposed me to many experiences I will use beyond college. As I graduate from UNO and head into the real world, I feel more equipped and robustly understand my community. I'm grateful to be called a "community-engaged scholar."

Noor Marcel

College of Public Affairs and Community Service

"The community engaged scholar’s transcript open new ways of learning for me, as an individual who prefers to see real world application this program put me in the driver seat to explore different practical aspects of what I learned as well as applying what I have learned to community building and development. By being engaged I was able to not only attend college but to experience it. I participated in search committees and more importantly I was able to input my voice and the voice of others who have yet to find the crack in the shell to freely express themselves and be engaged."

Jessica Schott

College of Public Affairs and Community Service

"The courses and volunteering experiences that I completed for this designation exposed me to new experiences and perspectives from people of all ages and backgrounds. I am grateful that I had opportunities to create a positive impact in our local community through service-learning courses and community engagement courses. As I continue to develop my professional career, as a healthcare administrator and nurse, community engagement will remain a priority."

Joey Gruber

College of Information Science and Technology

“Throughout the last four years, I have had the opportunity to be involved in my community at UNO, Omaha, and beyond. Through service-learning courses, student organization involvement, and my capstone project, I have learned how to positively impact my community. With only a few weeks left at UNO, I am excited to see how my passions can continue creating a positive impact, and receiving this designation only furthers my desire to be engaged throughout my career.”

Hannah Im

College of Arts and Sciences

“Each component of the Community Engaged Scholar Transcript Designation (CESTD) highlighted the importance of community involvement and the positive impact that results from these interactions. These experiences were valuable opportunities to apply my learning in new ways while helping others. Moreover, they enriched my undergraduate education and reinforced my passion for giving back to the community."

Lavanya Uppala

College of Information Science and Technology

“This certificate program has been a way through which I can expand my horizons through the pursuit of experiences and learning through classes that I otherwise would not have considered. Balancing such a STEM-heavy degree with aspects of community involvement, such as programming an appointment display board for the Open Door Mission homeless shelter, has shown how learning does not simply have to be in the pursuit of a degree but is a way in which someone can change the world. Such experiences provide real-world examples of how I can leverage my academic skills to address problems that I am truly passionate about. Through this work, I have become more connected with my community and have had the realization that the most meaningful actions occur when both the human and technical sides of the challenge are well understood. Taking on community challenges through volunteerism has especially shown me how small actions can have incredible impacts and has only confirmed my feeling that I would like to one day have a career where I can help others."

Liz Bender

College of Arts and Sciences

“I am very thankful for the Community Engaged Scholarship Transcript Designation program for the ability to move my traditional classroom learning beyond the syllabus in a way that impacted myself and my community in a positive manner. I feel a greater connection to my community and my ability to serve it. Service-learning courses played into my decision in selecting UNO for my undergraduate career, and the CEST designation opened the door to take this even further and changed me in innumerable ways, albeit, for the better.”

Monica Finch

College of Public Affairs and Community Service

“By realizing what others can do better than I, and delegating those activities to people better suited, that leaves me to do the tasks I excel in. As a non-traditional student, I can merge my new education with my old experiences. I am looking forward to my new career.”

Rose McCaffrey

College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media

“My experience in the designation was exciting because I was able to put all my years and hours of volunteering into recognition. It helped me with my personal growth and development to reflect on myself as a person and how I can help my community. For any UNO student who is also very engaged in their UNO career, this provides an amazing opportunity that makes you feel accomplished after completing college.”

Diana Muñoz

College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media

“I enjoyed serving my Hispanic community and I even had the chance to have fun and be engaging. My experience was very positive and I would encourage all students attending UNO to take at least one service learning class."

Panashe Muendesi

College of Arts and Sciences

“I appreciate the Community Engaged Scholarship Transcript Designation program for giving me the opportunity to be involved in the community and reflect on my years of volunteerism in the community. I have gained personal and professional growth as a result of the service-learning courses, community service opportunities, internships, and my senior year capstone. I felt purpose in what I was doing because I could reach underserved populations and address various problems in the community. These experiences motivated me more to pursue a career in medicine where I can connect to diverse groups of patients and continuously give back to society. Community service was essential to me during high school. Then, in college it remained to be a part of my normal weekly routine. In a few weeks, I will be graduating and plan to continue volunteering in a new state while growing into a new health profession."

Previously Recognized Students

Fall 2021 Students

Please note that this list does not include those from the pilot and and second year students who graduated with this designation.

About the Designation

Students who receive this designation connect their academic endeavors with our community through service learning, community-based learning, and volunteerism. To earn this designation each student completes 1 community-based learning experience, 6 hours of service learning coursework, 135 service hours, as well as written reflections for each requirement. Written reflections speak to the knowledge, skills, and abilities they gained from their engaged experiences.

The designation allows students to demonstrate to future employers how they participated in community engagement during their time at the University of Nebraska Omaha. The spring 2021 graduation recognized four students for earning this designation.

How to Enroll

UNO Students can self-enroll by scanning the QR code below or by going through the CESTD Canvas page. UNO faculty can also nominate a student.

Here are some of the benefits for UNO students who earn this designation:

Opportunities to network and develop references

Experiences that develop your resume

Connecting your career goals with your community

Strengthen your competitive advantage with employers

Strengthen communication, leadership, and teamwork skills

Find new strengths and interests

Learn about the importance of community issues

Questions

Contact Sara Woods at swoods@unomaha.edu.

Original source can be found here.