Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has announced that Seminole State College’s Tijah Johnson, a sophomore studying Health Sciences, will be one of the 290 students who will make up the organization’s 2020-2021 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows.

The Newman Civic Fellowship is a yearlong program for students from Campus Compact member institutions. The students selected for the fellowship are leaders on their campuses who demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions for challenges facing communities locally, nationally and internationally.

Johnson, of Shawnee, serves as the SSC Student Government Association President. As a campus leader, she has participated in many events, including representing the College at Higher Ed Day at the State Capitol and state-wide Student Government Congresses. She served as a speaker at the “Women in STEM” campus event. She has also played a role in the planning, organizing and opening of the campus Food Pantry and Help Center, a resource that provides support to students facing mental health issues, seeking counseling referrals or in need of guidance on their academic careers.

“Tijah’s help with the Food Pantry and the Help Center has been instrumental in helping our student body as a whole,” SSC President Lana Reynolds said.

Johnson discovered her passion for ending food insecurity while serving as the Student Government Association President.
            “I began to understand the effects of income inequality and how it is a battle for families to provide basic needs and how the bonds of the family relationship suffer as well,” Johnson said. “I am an advocate for each student on campus and strive to make sure their voices are heard.”

The fellowship is named for the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who was an advocate for civic engagement in higher education.

Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides the students with a variety of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional and civic growth. Each year, Fellows are invited to a national, in-person conference of Newman Civic Fellows and participate in numerous virtual training and networking opportunities. The fellowship also provides fellows with pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

“We are proud to recognize each of these extraordinary student leaders and thrilled to have the opportunity to engage with them,” Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn said. “The stories of this year’s Newman Civic Fellows make clear that they are committed to finding solutions to pressing problems in their communities and beyond. That is what Campus Compact is about, and it’s what our country and our world desperately need.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship is supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation. Learn more at compact.org/newman-civic-fellowship.