Student Wins National Award for Civic Engagement

Kody Guedes, a junior majoring in communication and media production, was one of 218 students in the nation and one of only five in New Jersey to receive the 2016 Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellows Award for civic engagement. Guedes received the award for showing his strong commitment to the ideals of Compass Compact, a national coalition of nearly 1,100 colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education.

“Kody embodies the ideals of giving back to his community and making a difference by volunteering his time and talents, often at agencies he utilized as a child,” says President Kathleen Waldron. “As a student leader, he has helped coordinate civic engagement activities, including a Habitat for Humanity build, by assisting with promotions, recruiting volunteers, and actively participating. He has participated in William Paterson’s alternate Spring Break to help restore cabins at a YMCA camp that serves high-risk youth and at the annual Martin Luther King Day of Service at local community soup kitchens, pantries, park clean-ups, and senior centers.”

Guedes says his most significant contribution was to give back to the Father English Community Center in Paterson, where he went as a child with his family. “Being able to give back has given me the skills and motivation to do my best and take every day as a day for change,” he says.