Inaugural NextGen Civic Leader Corps Graduates

This spring, the IIGE celebrated the first cohort of 11 NextGen graduates who received their graduation stoles and pins during the May 22 Global Engagement Conference. Plans are in motion to help these students maintain their cohort after they graduate as they search for jobs and move into professional lives. They will also be encouraged to return to campus and share their experience and community impact with the upcoming generation of NextGen students.

From the moment the NextGen Civic Leader Corps was announced to IIGE students and across campus in Fall 2024, the program took off.  Within days 11 students registered. The program grew steadily, tripling in size throughout the year. “We currently have a diverse group of 34 students from 13 majors, including Law & Policy, Psychology, Criminal Justice, Healthcare Leadership, and Politics, Philosophy and Economics,” says Mike Wark, NextGen program specialist. “The enthusiasm we are seeing for this program from students who want to make a difference demonstrates NextGen’s potential to impact the public good.”

Eamon Challinor is a sophomore in computer science who thought NextGen and the School of Engineering and Technology almost seemed like polar opposites, but after attending a few NextGen events, he learned no matter what your major, you are going to be needed as a leader in public service. “Speaking to elected officials at the Legislative Reception event this last fall, I noted many didn’t have traditional political science backgrounds,” says Challinor. “No matter what your discipline, there is value in making change through public service.”

NextGen Majors represented are: Psychology, Healthcare Leadership, Social Welfare, Politics, philosophy, and economics (PPE), Economics & Policy Analysis, Ethnic, gender, labor studies, Law and Policy, Criminal Justice Online, Computer Science and Systems, Finance, Business Administration – Management, Urban Studies: Community Planning & Development, and Education.

The NextGen Civic Leader Corps is a collaborative effort between UW Tacoma, UW Seattle's Evans School of Public Policy & Governance and the Community Engagement & Leadership Education (CELE) Center in Undergraduate Academic Affairs, and UW Bothell. Through coursework, experiential learning, and professional network building, the program allows students to recognize and deepen their commitment to community engagement and public service. The program is part of a growing network of similar program across the country powered by the Volcker Alliance Next Generation Service Corps.

NextGen Students Share Internship Experience at the IIGE's Global Engagement Conference

On Wednesday May 22, students from the inaugural NextGen Civic Leader Corps cohort presented projects and participated in ‘Inside Democracy’, a panel and round table discussion at the IIGE's Global Engagement Conference that gave the audience an inside scoop on students’ internship experiences working with the Washington State Legislature. The panel began with presentations led by Andrew Tsang, Annika Christenson, and Andy Lopez Membrilla. Tsang reflected on communication practices he noticed were most effective for communicating with legislation, such as handwritten notes and organizing a group of people to meet in person with legislators. Christenson presented on how polarization happens in U.S. politics and strategies to overcome it, recommending that regulating media would go further to depolarize politics than simply turning to media literacy education. Lopez Membrilla did a deep dive into how representation actually plays out in democracy, specifically looking at Latinos in government as well as gender expression.

Following the presentations, Dr. Emily Thuma, faculty in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, moderated a round table discussion comprised of the three panel presenters as well as the rest of the inaugural NextGen cohort. The questions centered on students’ experiences in their respective internship positions. Many agreed on the importance of relationships and communication in legislative work. When asked about challenges, staying non-partisan and having conversations directly with constituents were top of mind for much of the cohort. Although they recognized the importance of non-partisan staff, staying outwardly neutral on topics students were passionate about was difficult. Being able to talk to other cohort members, especially those with ‘sister senators’, helped with tough aspects of the internship.  

NextGen at UW Foundation Board

NextGen student ambassadors from all three campuses highlighted the April 25 meeting of the University of Washington Foundation Board, which is composed of some of our region’s most influential leaders. This was a tremendous opportunity for NextGen student leaders to illustrate the program’s potential to impact the public good. UW Tacoma Ambassador Jannat Musawi joined Maha Roy, UW Bothell, and Esther Himmelfarb, UW Seattle, shared stories about how NextGen is supporting their public service career journeys. The presentation was part of the UW Foundation Board’s program to honor the legacy of Nancy Evans and her commitment to public service. NextGen Ambassadors highlighted the April meeting of the UW Foundation Board, which is composed of some of our region’s most influential leaders. Jannat Musawi (pictured left), UW Tacoma’s Ambassador, joined Maha Roy, UW Bothell, and Esther Himmelfarb, UW Seattle, to inform the Board about NextGen during a program to honor the legacy of Nancy Evans and her commitment to public service. 

NextGen Builds Momentum Across Three UW Campuses

IIGE NextGen students demonstrated the growing impact of our UW Tacoma program during the three-campus “Community of Practice” meeting May 16 at UW Bothell. Twice a year, faculty, staff and students from all three campuses meet for a half-day to hear updates and progress on campus NextGen programs and new initiatives. The location rotates between campuses.

UW Tacoma student Eamon Challinor presented about adding NextGen to DUBNET, the online communication network that supports more than 70 student organizations (similar to clubs) across the UW Tacoma campus. The tool will help students stay connected and build their sense of community. DUBNET will raise the visibility of NextGen, helping to promote events to current NextGen students as well as those in clubs and organizations across campus. Challinor also highlighted NextGen’s shift to becoming an official Student Organization with officers to help run operations and activities in collaboration with IIGE staff. UW Bothell will have the same program next year so they have the option of taking a similar path.

UW Tacoma also featured two students in a presentation about the Washington State Legislative Internship, a program at the heart of the state’s annual Legislative Session that lines up perfectly with NextGen objectives to provide deep learning and work experiences. UW Tacoma had 12 students embedded in legislative offices this winter; nine were NextGen students. UW Seattle and Bothell were intrigued to learn about the internship program. In all, 31 students from all three UW campuses participated among the 70 interns from universities across the state this year.

UW Tacoma interns Jasmine Orthouse and Amit Bali provided details about working in the offices of a senator and representatives. Both hosted meetings with constituents, which involved representing their legislators’ perspectives and taking notes to ensure feedback was delivered to them. A component of the internship is reserved for learning experiences, including mock legislative sessions with other students in the actual House and Senate chambers, and job shadowing. During the Community of Practice meeting, Seattle and Bothell indicated they are planning to connect their NextGen students with the Legislative Internship program in the future.

The day also featured coordinated brainstorming sessions to generate ideas for how to make improvements and enhancements to campus-based programs with Design Thinking 0riented conversations about fundraising, faculty support across campuses, and data-based methods to better evaluate the NextGen’s impact.

Strengthening Partnership with Mi Centro

The IIGE and NextGen are strengthening their partnership with the Mi Centro-based Dolores Huerta Institute to provide a summer workshop series June 17 through 21 that teaches students about the state’s governance and political processes and how they may participate in advocacy to make change. “This is a wonderful opportunity for NextGen students to learn from a nonprofit organization that specializes in teaching the community to make their voices heard in Washington state’s political environment,” says Divya McMillin, Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Global Engagement. “It is also a way for those in the community served by Mi Centro to learn about UW Tacoma as a pathway toward careers in public service and civic engagement.” Students who complete the program will receive a $200 stipend.