Community Impact

The Engaged Scholar-Activist Program engages students from all years in school and across various disciplines of study to act as student leaders in the office, the classroom, and in the community. ESAs help create and plan service learning and community-based learning classes by organizing service placements and activities, and acting as models of leadership and activism for their peers.

The program was inspired by the the nationally recognized “Student as Colleague” model suggested by Campus Compact, which is currently functioning in various colleges and universities around the country. This program utilizes the knowledge and power of students across all class standings and through various disciplines in order to further the work of the Center for Service Learning (CSL) in Regis College. The aims of this program are for students to enhance the work of the CSL in three areas: through working directly with faculty and departments to help plan and implement effective service learning in the classroom; through serving as mentors and resources for students working in the community; and by acting as direct liaisons between CSL and community organizations in Denver.

Why we feel this program is important:

  • Calls upon ESA students to act as role models for their peers, take accountability and charge for their own education, and explore the responsibility that comes with working with faculty, departments, and community agencies.
  • Enhances the learning of students that enroll in SL/CBL classes, not only giving them the opportunity to learn experientially, but with direction and enthusiasm from their fellow students, who often can bring their own relevant experience to renew the energy of service learning
  • Strengthens the education teachers offer in their classrooms, by bringing in fresh perspectives and interactive methods of class teaching, facilitation, and learning
  • Benefit the community in that students are better prepared to engage in the community through service orientation from the classroom, and can better comprehend and analyze larger social issues from the experiences in the community, learning both their place in these struggles and how they can become agents of positive social change for local and global justice

Interested in Becoming an ESA?

2012-2013 Engaged Scholar Activist Application

Engaged Scholar-Activist Manifesto

The Engaged Scholar-Activist Program Brochure 

For more information contact Melissa Nix at 303-458-4217 or by email.