University of New England

2 UNE students to provide year of service as 'Civic Fellows'

Two University of New England undergraduates have begun one year of volunteer community service as Civic Fellows, a UNE program funded through the Serve New Hampshire/Maine AmeriCorps Education Award program.

Kimberly Macleod, a junior from Waltham, Massachusetts, majoring in psychology and social relations, and Jennifer Morocho, a sophomore from Woodside, New York, majoring in medical biology, will focus their volunteer efforts on meeting human needs in our local communities. Through the Serve NH/ME Education Award of AmeriCorps, college students are encouraged to pursue their volunteer interests in one of five areas: education, environment, homeland security, human needs or public safety.

Macleod is currently interning with The Root Cellar in Portland. She is president of UNE’s Crosseekers Club and is leading her second Alternative Break (an organized, community-service option for college students in lieu of the traditional Spring Break) to build housing in the hurricane-stricken South. She is an active member of UNE’s Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.

Morocho is secretary of the Residence Hall Council,  president of the Latin American Student Association. She hopes to work with organizations such as York County Shelter and St. Andre Group Homes. Her particular interest is in working with adolescents and young parents.

The students’ advisor is Jessica Meserve, coordinator of UNE’s Citizenship Service Learning Center.

The SERVE New Hampshire / Maine AmeriCorps program seeks to meet the following four objectives: 1) To engage AmeriCorps members in direct community service that meets locally identified community needs. 2) To increase the leadership skills and civic knowledge of AmeriCorps members. 3) To engage AmeriCorps members in recruiting and managing volunteers. 4) To facilitate the development of new campus-community partnerships and the strengthening of existing ones.

UNE Civic Fellows are members of this program and are sponsored by the University by the Citizenship Service-Learning Center of the Sociology Department. For more information, contact Jessica Meserve at 602-2513 or jmeserve@une.edu.

(Press release issued March 2, 2006)