2017 Kentucky Newman Civic Fellows

MEGAN DAVIS
Berea College

Megan Davis, a junior at Berea College, is a dynamic and dedicated student leader who uses her skills and knowledge to engage those around her in proactive work to drive social change. For two years, Megan has worked with the Center for Excellence in Learning through Service (CELTS) as a team member of People Who Care, a student-led service group that focuses on service and advocacy projects in partnership with local, regional, and national non-profit and social change organizations. Megan plans and implements service, education, and advocacy programming, all in partnership with community-based or social justice organizations, on topics like mass incarceration, food access in rural communities, and immigration. Megan has demonstrated a desire to come to terms with systemic causes of poverty, as well as a commitment to use education to raise awareness and ultimately to develop strategies to change these systems. Megan has reflected, “From my time at Berea College, I have discovered my passion for social justice. I have come to learn that poverty is a form of oppression, one that impacts people of all ages, races, and genders. Combatting oppression is what I see as a duty of all people.”

Lyle Roelofs 
President, Berea College

Personal Statement

My passion for social justice has been fostered through my labor position in the Center for Excellence in Learning through Service (CELTS) with People Who Care, a social justice organization. With People Who Care, I work to educate my campus on different social justice issues, coordinate volunteer trips for fellow Berea students, and plan events to raise awareness for local, national, and international organizations. During my time at Berea College, I have volunteered with Berea Teen Mentoring, Adopt-a-Grandparent, and Habitat for Humanity, and completed an internship with the USDA’s Summer Food Service Program administered by Grow Appalachia. I am also an officer in a student organization, Fighting for Equal Education, known as F.E.E. This group is made up of DACA students and allies advocating for immigrant rights and the human right to education. I think that social issues should be addressed with education, policy change, and advocating through sharing personal narratives. My future goals include obtaining a master’s degree in social work, advocating for immigrants and refugees, and working with the elderly.

Megan Davis
Child and Family Studies with a concentration in Family Studies & Nutrition and Food Studies, Peace and Social Justice minor: Class of May 2018
written 2017

HANNAH GIBBS
Centre College

Since her first year of high school, when she started a local Relay for Life chapter at her high school, Hannah Gibbs has taken a collaborative, capacity-building approach to social change. Now a sophomore at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, Hannah is a leader in efforts to involve Centre students in off-campus projects that address unmet community needs. While Hannah’s work in the local community, which has included projects such as a campus-wide donation drive to support a newly-opened community food bank and a campaign to raise awareness of the need for stronger human trafficking policies, is impressive, she does not stop at organizing events and projects, but also strives to help college students across Kentucky develop the leadership skills necessary to create long-term social change. As the founder of Stand: The Student Service Initiative, a service organization with four active chapters on campuses across the state and three additional chapters in formation, Hannah recognizes that long-term social change that can come only when people work together. It is her leadership, commitment to collaboration, and deep awareness of the need for long-term solutions to social inequality that make her an exceptionally qualified candidate for the Newman Civic Fellowship.

John Roush 
President, Centre College

Personal Statement

The first time I realized the depth and breadth of social inequalities based on factors from race to socioeconomic status, was through my childhood spent in Eastern Kentucky, which remains an area stricken by poverty and social injustice. As I have gotten more involved through campus and community activities, I have addressed those issues that lead to systemic inequality by creating collaborative, inclusive opportunities for students to get engaged in social issues. Leading Stand, a statewide service organization, I work to raise money each year to help atypically-developing children access education, have organized two campus-wide events to help clean a destroyed African-American cemetery, have hosted a hygiene product drive to assist our local food pantry, and am now working to organize a week of events centered around changing state legislation regarding human trafficking. In addition, I participate, through the Bonner program, in regular conversations with other students regarding the systemic causes of social injustices, and then in turn, how to address them in our own communities. Through these outlets, I am able to work both locally and statewide to address immediate needs in communities as well as create opportunities for student leadership to address the root causes of social inequalities.

Hannah Gibbs
Environmental Studies: Class of May 2019
written 2017

CORNELIA THOMAS
Kentucky Wesleyan College

Cornelia Thomas, a junior at Kentucky Wesleyan College, is currently the Vice President of the Student Government Association. She earned the Outstanding Senator award in 2016. As president of Kappa Delta sorority, Cornelia led her organization to the largest participation of any organization in the Wesleyan Way Day of Service in November, 2016. Cornelia also actively works to maintain Kappa Delta’s long-standing partnership with Girls, Inc. of Owensboro, where Wesleyan students assist with programming and serve as mentors to the participants.
A Middle Grades English Education major with a concentration in Learning and Behavior Disorder, Cornelia has volunteered for three years with Puzzle Pieces, a local non-profit organization supporting individuals with developmental disabilities.

Bart Darrell 
President
Kentucky Wesleyan College

Personal Statement

I first realized the importance of mental health when I started volunteering at a local shelter for abused women and children. As I became older, I started to understand that mental health is a key factor in education. Mental health is a social issue that many times get swept under the rug because of how deep of an issue it is. I came to understand that when not addressed, mental health will cause students to not have the opportunity to reach their full potential in the educational realm. When I fully realized this, I knew that I had to get involved and make a difference. In my community, I volunteer at Girls’ Inc.–helping young children not only with their school work, but also with their self-esteem and understanding their true value. This organization means the world to me because I know that once a girl knows her value she will become unstoppable. I also help raise awareness of mental health by helping with fundraisers for Prevent Child Abuse America and Oasis Women and Children’s shelter. I continue to stay involved and try to find ways to raise awareness of the importance of mental health and its importance in education, because I know that once addressed we will give children the power to reach their full potential.

Cornelia Thomas
Middle Grades English and Learning and Behavior Disorder: Class of April 2018
written 2017

NANHAO CHEN
Transylvania University

Nanhao Chen, is a junior from Transylvania University. Since arriving on campus almost three years ago, he has demonstrated a passion about social justice issues. He started serving the Lexington community as a tutor at the Carnegie Center, a consistent volunteer at the Habitat ReStore, as well as the service chair for his fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi. Nanhao is currently the student coordinator for the Nest volunteer team. The Nest is a center for women, children, and families and offers services to families in need. Nanhao volunteers each week and leads a team of students. He has a strong understanding of the root causes of social issues supported by his vast array of experiences. He has well developed ideas on how to expand the volunteer team and help the Nest in many different ways. Before taking on this role as the student coordinator, Nanhao met with administration at both Transy and the Nest to fully understand the needs. He continually brainstorms solutions to the issues he has been presented with and then offers innovative ideas to meet the needs of our partners.

Seamus Carey 
President
Transylvania University

Personal Statement

My service experience with the Nest Center, which provides assistance for families going through crisis, has led to my concern for the struggles of low income single families. Especially those who cannot provide essential opportunities for their children and maintain a stable family environment because they lack resources, such as parenting education and everyday needs. Since it is impossible to address the issue mentioned without asking assistance from the community, I decided to seek a long-term partnership for the Nest Center that could contribute more resources than possible on an individual basis. I soon moved forward by partnering the Nest Center with Transylvania’s largest greek organization, Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity. With the new partnership, the Nest Center can enhance the capability to provide everyday supplies for those families in need. To further this initiative, I’ve planned a philanthropy event with both organizations where everyday supplies will be donated from the Transy community in exchange for a specially designed shirt. Moreover, I’ve also initiated the Nest’s first ever learning educational program for college students, which focuses on how to be a responsible partner, as well as parent. This project will also begin with members of Delta Sigma Phi.

Nanhao Chen
Business and Art History: Class of May 2018
written 2017

For more information about the Newman Civic Fellows, click here.