UW-Green Bay’s Mercedes Reyes named a 2024-2025 Newman Civic Fellowship recipient

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 31, 2024

Reyes is the seventh UW-Green Bay student to be awarded the fellowship

Green Bay, WI – The impact of gun violence and the urgent need for bold action is what motivates UW-Green Bay student Mercedes Reyes. As the 2024-2025 Newman Civic Fellow, she is determined to make a difference.

“I am extremely grateful and honored to have been nominated and to now be named a 2024-2025 Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow,” said Reyes. “I am dedicated to gun violence prevention, and this opportunity is so important to my growth as a social justice activist and to the work that needs to be done. I feel strongly supported by the UW-Green Bay faculty and staff – from the connections to the variety of opportunities to the encouragement given to me by them. Now representing UW-Green Bay as a Newman Civic Fellow, this will be something that I do not take lightly. I will make sure to utilize this opportunity to the fullest.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. The fellowship, named for Campus Compact founder Frank Newman, provides training and resources that nurture students’ assets and passions to help them develop strategies to achieve social change. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides learning opportunities focused on the skills fellows need in order to serve as effective agents of change in addressing public problems and building equitable communities.

Reyes determination to make a difference is evident in her involvement in various initiatives, including her engagement in the Civic Scholars Leadership Program, her internship with Everytown for Gun Safety, and her establishment of the UW-Green Bay Students Demand Action student organization. Reyes is pursuing a degree in Political Science and Democracy and Justice Studies with a Social Justice emphasis.

The fellowship is a one-year experience for students in which fellows have access to in-person and virtual learning opportunities, networking events, attendance at the national conference in Chicago, IL and mentoring from a local community leader. While the fellowship experience is limited to one year, participants in the Newman Civic Fellowship are invited to join a national network of community-committed peers and to enter into a long-term community of Newman Civic Fellows.

Over the next few months, Reyes will further hone her leadership skills planning for the UW-Green Bay Students Demand Action student organization academic year, while also preparing for her Newman Civic Fellowship. To see a full list of the UW-Green Bay Newman Civic Fellowship awardees, please visit their website.

About UW-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a school of resilient problem solvers who dare to reach higher with the power of education that ignites growth and answers the biggest challenges. Serving 10,300 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students as well as 67,500 continuing education learners annually, UW-Green Bay offers 200 academic degrees, programs, and certificates. With four campus locations in Northeast Wisconsin, the University’s access mission welcomes all students who want to learn, from every corner of the world. Championing bold thinking since opening its doors in 1965, it is a university on the rise – Wisconsin’s fastest growing UW. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.

–61-24–