Earlier this semester, senior history major Jamie Raczynski was named a 2025 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities committed to civic engagement. She is among a select group of students nationwide recognized for their dedication to addressing public challenges and creating positive change.

Through her leadership on Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia’s 23/54 Project, she’s helped bring forward untold stories of Appalachian communities, bridging historical research and community voices to shape public memory.

In October, Raczynski attended the 2025 Newman Civic Fellows Convening in Chicago, an annual conference exclusively for current Newman Civic Fellows that provides opportunities for networking, collaboration, and shared learning. At the conference, she connected with peers from across the country through interactive workshops and networking sessions.

One of the highlights of the experience for her was making connections with other college students who were all doing similar civic engagement work and projects.

“It’s great to have a network of fellows to learn from and lean on as needed,” she shared. 

One of the conference’s most impactful moments for Raczynski was during an alumni panel of previous Newman Civic Fellows. One of the alums, who works as a nurse, told the group that she is still active with civic engagement work, but it’s not her day job. It was a powerful takeaway for Raczynski, who had struggled with feeling like she had to choose between her longtime dream of being a teacher and her newfound passion for civic engagement work.

“It really opened my eyes that I can enjoy civic engagement work and still want to be a teacher at the same time,” Raczynski said. 

Her experience at the conference reinforced that civic engagement can be a lifelong pursuit, no matter the career path. For Raczynski, it means shaping lives in the classroom while continuing to lead change in her community.

Written by Cammie Sgarrella