Engage in Your Community Award

For this award, you are asked to reflect on the campus or community experiences that have enhanced your college learning in a Sway ePortfolio. Such experiences might include service learning, civic engagement, community service or other volunteerism, internships/externships, campus activities, and/or student organizations. 

 Up to three $1000 awards will be given to students who are making a difference in their communities. Strong candidates will demonstrate the connections between their engagement and understanding of who they are as an aspiring professional and engaged citizen.

Eligibility

All current students who have completed one MT Engage course and are in good standing are eligible to apply.

How to Apply

• Entries must be completed in Sway.
• All entries must include at least one photo.
• The deadline to apply is April 1, 2025.
• Winners will be announced April 11.
• Winners will be recognized at the MT Engage Spring Reception on April 16.
• Entries must be submitted at https://mtsu.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8j3bWuKs2iLW742

View the sample Sway https://sway.cloud.microsoft/ZMgM4ccoNbCtAEd1?ref=Link.

All entires should include the following components:

Engagement Reflection

In Public Writing for Social Change, Writing Studies scholar Ashley Holmes defines an academic citizen as “someone who takes the writing and research we do in college and puts it to practical and civic use in our communities in the hopes of contributing toward positive social change.” 

Part One

Who are you as an academic citizen? How have you taken what you have learned at MTSU and put it to practical use in your community in hopes of contributing to positive social change?

Part Two

Choose ONE of the three areas below to demonstrate who you are as an academic citizen. Responses should demonstrate your sustained involvement and contributions.

Prompts are provided to serve as a guide to assist you in telling your story. Your response does not need to address each question, nor should it be limited to only those questions addressed in the prompts. Responses should not be submitted in bulleted or numbered formats.

1. Campus Engagement
2. Community Engagement
3. Civic Engagement

Campus Engagement

Identify and describe a service commitment that you have been involved with on campus as an MTSU student. Such experiences might include student organizations, honor societies, or other campus activities not part of a course.

• Describe your participation in a campus experience or activity that had a service component. Why did you choose the experience? Who was involved? What did you do? How did you interact with others?
• What were the most important things you learned from this experience? In what ways did you grow your knowledge of yourself as a person, a learner, an aspiring professional, and/or a citizen?
• Why is what you learned in this experience significant or important to you?
• How does what you learned from this experience relate to your educational and career goals or your discipline?
• Did you use anything you learned in coursework you’ve taken in this campus involvement? If so, give an example.
• How has your campus involvement influenced your professional development?
• How did your involvement make a difference to your campus community?
• What did you learn from the experience and the people you were working with, and how can you use that learning in your future career and/or civic engagement?
• How has your involvement in this service/organization changed your attitudes or thinking about yourself and/or the campus community?
• In thinking further about your future campus engagement, discuss how the knowledge, skills, and abilities you have learned at MTSU could benefit your community/organization. Make sure to include at least one detailed example from your experience that supports your view.

Community Engagement

Identify and describe a service commitment that you have been involved with beyond campus during your time at MTSU. Such experiences might include volunteering, community service, or involvement in community/religious organizations.

• Describe your participation in the community experience or activity that had a service component. Why did you choose this experience? Who was involved? What did you do? How did you interact with others?
• What were the most important things you learned from this experience? In what ways did you increase your knowledge of yourself as a person, a learner, an aspiring professional, and/or a citizen?
• Why is what you learned in this experience significant or important to you?
• How does what you learned from this experience relate to your educational and career goals or your discipline?
• Did you use anything you learned in coursework you’ve taken in this community experience? If so, give an example.
• How has your involvement in this community experience influenced your professional development?
• How did your involvement make a difference to your community?
• What did you learn from the experience and the people you were working with, and how can you use that learning in your future career and/or civic engagement?
• How has your involvement in this service/organization changed your attitudes or thinking about yourself and/or the community?
• In thinking further about your future community engagement, discuss how the knowledge, skills and abilities you have learned at MTSU could benefit your community/organization. Make sure to include at least one detailed example from your experience that supports your view.

Civic Engagement Activities

Identify and describe a social issue that is of interest to you AND one that you explored through a civic engagement activity, program, or sustained experience as a student either on campus or in the community.

(volunteering or community service, political involvement, advocating for social change, informal community building)

• Describe your participation in the civic engagement experience or activity. Why did you choose this experience? Who was involved? What did you do? How did you interact with others?
• What were the most important things you learned from this experience? In what ways did you increase your knowledge of yourself as a person, a learner, an aspiring professional, and/or a citizen?
• Why is what you learned in this experience significant or important to you?
• How does what you learned from this experience relate to your educational and career goals or your discipline?
• Did you use anything you learned in coursework you’ve taken in this civic engagement experience? If so, give an example.
• How has your involvement in this community experience influenced your professional development?
• How did your involvement make a difference to your community?
• What did you learn from the experience and the people you were working with, and how can you use that learning in your future career and/or civic engagement?
• How has your involvement in this service/organization changed your attitudes or thinking about yourself and/or the community?
• In thinking further about your future civic engagement, discuss how the knowledge, skills, and abilities you have learned at MTSU could benefit your community/organization. Make sure to include at least one detailed example from your experience that supports your view.