Southwestern is proud to announce that Maureen Rendón ’21 has been named a 2020–2021 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education. The music and political science double major is one of the 290 students awarded a one-year fellowship for her leadership and dedication to finding solutions to challenges facing communities throughout the nation and abroad. This year’s cohort is the largest group of Newman Civic Fellows to date.

During her years on campus, Rendón has been active in a number of roles that demonstrate her commitment to contributing to the local, state, and even global communities. She has served as a congressional intern for Henry Cuellar, a U.S. congressman representing the 28th District of Texas, and while studying abroad in London in fall 2019, she interned in the office of Chloe Smith, a member of Parliament representing Norwich North in the U.K. She is a member of Southwestern’s Student Ambassadors, and last spring, she served as the site leader for a Spring Breakaway project focusing on immigrant rights and labor in San Francisco.

The fellowship is named for the late Frank Newman, a founder of Campus Compact who was a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. The fellowship will provide Rendón with a variety of learning and networking opportunities that emphasize personal, professional, and civic development. She will be invited to engage in a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows as well as exclusive scholarship and postgraduate opportunities.

“We are proud to recognize each of these extraordinary student leaders and thrilled to have the opportunity to engage with them,” says Andrew Seligsohn, Campus Compact president. “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 colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. It is the largest national higher-education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement.