Student Civic Leadership Opportunities

Smith Center for Global Engagement
Academic Civic Engagement
For Students
Student Civic Leadership Opportunities

See an opportunity to make positive change? Here’s how you can make it happen!

Two St. Olaf students stand in front of a whiteboard that says "science meow" as they talk science with elementary school students. — This cohort-based program will take (10) ten students through a year-long learning and social action experience to work on a local impact project.

A local impact project is a project that is intentionally and responsibly built and implemented to address a known community priority with input and guidance for key stakeholders, including those most directly affected by an issue, within Rice County or a county immediately surrounding Rice County. Students could collaborate with others on campus to devise a way to keep more waste out of the landfill during move-out each spring, for instance. Or students could partner with local organizations such as Healthfinders Collaborative to design a short-term program that addresses a gap in their public health services within Rice and Steele Counties or work with Healthy Community Initiative on a community-engaged research project that helps them better understand the impact of various interventions on targeted populations.

What matters most is that you are working with others to craft solutions to issues facing a community(ies) that you care deeply about and taking action on those solutions!

The Common Good Fellows program is designed as a cohort-based program with carefully scaffolded experiences to give each civic leader the tools and knowledge to be successful in their local impact project. Given this, students are expected to actively participate in the cohort in the following ways:

REQUIRED orientation on the final day of Fall Break (Oct. 21) from 1:00-7:00 PM (dinner provided)
Two full cohort meetings on Nov. 13 during community time (11:30 AM-12:30 PM) and December 10 (Reading Day) from 2:00-3:00 PM
Four additional 1-1 meetings with ACE staff and/or community partner(s) during the fall for information gathering, relationship building, and project co-creation, plus additional research on your issue, community, and partner
January-April: Project implementation, including 15-min biweekly in-person or virtual check-ins with ACE staff AND actively implementing your project, including documenting your work and progress! Your local action project must also involve at least ten other St. Olaf students over the course of your project implementation.
May: Recognition and celebration of your local impact project through a poster presentation at a Civic Engagement Showcase (date and time TBD) AND final cohort reflection meeting and evaluation

Skills, knowledge, and critical frameworks for civic leadership and place-based community-driven engagement
Relationships and networks with people who care about issues you care about, within the cohort and the community at large
$750 stipend upon successful completion of program elements + $250 for project implementation
A new Civic Leadership digital badge

Sophomore through Seniors who will be on campus during the fall and spring terms in the 2025-26 academic year
International students are eligible to participate in the program, but should be prepared for additional considerations that may be necessary in order to protect their visa status

While it may be helpful if you have some community connections and ideas already, the most important things to bring into this cohort are the motivation to see a project through to its completion and a genuine desire to make positive change.

In other words: leaders-in-the-making are encouraged to apply!

Yes!

APPLY NOW!

Here is the application timeline:

September 19: Applications are due! Start it below, and if you submit an application, please hold the dates listed above on your calendar.
Week of September 22: Brief 30-minute interviews with Alyssa Melby. You will be sent a scheduling link within one business day after your application is submitted.
Acceptances out by October 1
Signed agreements due October 3

Here are other opportunities on campus to get involved, build your civic and community engagement skills, and build the world you want to live in!

Visit Presence and search organizations by “service” to find an organization that speaks to the issues you most care about!

THEN–reach out to get signed up and involved!

Wanna take your leaderships to the next level? Offer to join an organization’s executive committee to steer the organization during your time at St. Olaf and keep it going for generations of Oles to come.

The Phillips Scholars Program is a one-year leadership development program providing students the opportunity to create, collaborate on, and complete a summer project focusing on a specific community issue. Student must be in their first year or sophomores interested in community service. Selected scholars receive a $9,500 scholarship.

Learn more about the Phillips Scholars Program!

Students are also invited to choose your own adventure through volunteering on your own or finding internships with local nonprofits and government entities.

Not sure where to start finding volunteering opportunities? Start by visiting the Northfield Shares Volunteer Hub to discover current opportunities and organizations looking for volunteers.

Local organizations are also posting internship positions on Handshake (make sure you’ve also signed up for the Piper Center’s Social Impact newsletter!). Since many are unpaid or underpaid, you can also apply for funding to help sustain you financially during your local internship.