Ahmed '20 Honored as Newman Civic Fellow
15 May 2019 Ahmed 20 Honored as Newman Civic Fellow
Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education, has named Hamdan Ahmed ’20 as one of only 262 students who make up the 2019-2020 cohort of national Newman Civic Fellows.
This prestigious honor recognizes students who work to find solutions for challenges facing their community. The fellowship provides training and resources that nurture students’ assets and passions and helps them develop strategies to achieve social change.
Ahmed, a computer science major who is studying abroad in Germany this semester, has been a driving force in programs to encourage HWS student engagement and service on and off campus. “It is not only an exceptional opportunity to contribute in solving global issues, but also a unique opportunity to bring a positive change in the lives of the volunteers,” says Ahmed.
Hailing from Pakistan, Ahmed has worked to support other international students, making Friday prayer more accessible for Muslim students, organizing the first Diwali celebration at HWS and hosting a large multicultural dinner on campus. He also helped organize the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning’s Alternative Spring Break programs for the 2018-19 academic year.
“Hamdan has demonstrated an impressive sensitivity to the unique challenges experienced by international students,” says HWS Interim President Patrick A. McGuire L.H.D. ’12. “As the President of the International Student Association and Co-Founder and Co-President of South Asian Student Association, he has creatively and proactively engaged our U.S. and international students in multi-cultural programming. Additionally, his leadership with the Alternative Spring Break program allowed 24 of his peers to contribute in significant ways to communities in North Carolina, Virginia and Lyons, N.Y.”
The Newman Civic Fellowship, named for Campus Compact co-founder Frank Newman, is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional and civic growth for students who have demonstrated a capacity for leadership and an investment in solving public problems. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The fellowship also affords fellows with access 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,” says Campus Compact President Andrew Seligsohn. “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.
Campus Compact is a national coalition of more than 1,000 colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. Campus Compact supports institutions in fulfilling their public purposes by deepening their ability to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility.