Awards and Achievements

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� student Anastasia Gallegos-Roque receives Newman Civic Fellowship

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 18:22:13 +0000

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� student Anastasia Gallegos-Roque receives Newman Civic Fellowship Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 09/23/2025 - 12:22

Elle Moscinski

Every year, an undergraduate student who demonstrates exemplary leadership is nominated for Campus Compact’s Newman Civic Fellowship, which supports student leaders who show great potential for tackling human rights and social justice issues. This year, University of Colorado Boulder’s own Anastasia Gallegos-Roque is one of the recipients. She is studying sociology and ethnic studies on a pre-law track with a minor in journalism and multicultural leadership. Gallegos-Roque was nominated by the Center for Leadership and Chancellor Schwartz.

The fellowship is a year-long program that creates a network of student leaders ready to solve societal issues. Only one representative is chosen from each university. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to represent ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��,” said Gallegos-Roque. During her fellowship, she will participate in workshops about networking, seeking grant funds and how to prepare research proposals. Gallegos-Roque will have the opportunity to ground herself in her leadership skills, soak in expertise and experience, and become a better leader.

Gallegos-Roque has experienced personal challenges during her own journey—such as coming from a single-parent, Hispanic household. “Being a woman in today’s age is very hard,” she shared. “It comes with a whole different set of barriers.” As someone who, at an early age, experienced a lot of unfairness in the world, Gallegos-Roque developed a passion for social justice and standing up for what’s right. The fellowship recognizes Gallegos-Roque’s dedication to social change and promoting multiculturalism and inclusivity. “I think, being a first-gen student and, coming from a very diverse multicultural background, my community doesn’t really have opportunities to go to college or even finish high school. Making my family proud and making myself proud is an honor and a privilege,” she said.

When reflecting on why civic work was important to her, Gallegos-Roque shared that it is teamwork and collaboration that are the most significant. Firstly, she emphasized that experiencing others’ perspectives is crucial for growing as a person. From experiencing a march in Chicago to traveling abroad to India, interacting with communities other than her own gave Gallegos-Roque a sense of her power and her privilege. She noted that one of the most significant parts of her experience in India was seeing little girls whom she worked with smile. They mentioned how their dream was to go to America, and it struck her that their dreams were so different from her own. She realized how privileged she was to grow up in America when other little girls dreamt of growing up and moving there. Experiencing other cultures and livelihoods invokes a certain discomfort, but Gallegos-Roque says that is when you learn the most. It allows you to step outside your world for a moment and grow as a person; to see things in ways that you never would have before.

Secondly, teamwork is critical to social justice issues because you simply cannot do it alone. “It takes a pack, it takes more than one to firmly get an agenda across,” Gallegos-Roque said. She highlighted that she would not have even considered going to India without the support of her friends, who encouraged her to apply to scholarships she did not imagine herself ever getting. The Civic Newman Fellowship itself is founded on the importance of collaboration. Each recognized student from a university can use their voice, but the fellowship brings them together to amplify each other’s voices. Gallegos-Roque will be a part of a network of students who can all support each other to create change.

Gallegos-Roque plans to use the resources and network of support provided by the program to advance change for immigration, housing security, food insecurity and child advocacy. She will participate in a retreat for fellows in the fall and then attend monthly online meetings while being supported by a mentor. Gallegos-Roque will work with Growing Up Boulder; a nonprofit whose mission is to help young people use their voices to advance progress for equitable and sustainable communities. She will also continue to be a mentor in first-generation and multicultural communities. For prospective students who want to start civic work, she advises to just do it. “There’s no perfect time, so don’t wait for the perfect time. Don’t wait for a comfortable time,” she said. Gallegos-Roque also advises others to recognize the power their own voice can have. “Your voice can be extremely impactful in a community that doesn’t have the option to use their voice or doesn’t feel comfortable using their voice,” she commented.

It is this unwavering fearlessness to speak up--even in moments of great discomfort—and use her voice on behalf of others that earned Gallegos-Roque the nomination.

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Honoring Joanne Guillery, Recipient of the 2022 Anne K. Heinz Staff Award for Excellence in Outreach and Engagement

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 20:15:17 +0000

Honoring Joanne Guillery, Recipient of the 2022 Anne K. Heinz Staff Award for Excellence in Outreach and Engagement Arielle Wiedenbeck Thu, 04/28/2022 - 14:15

Gretchen Minekime

Joanne Guillery credits her relationship-building skills to her time in the Peace Corps. She has honed and used those skills in every chapter of her career – as a community organizer, fundraiser, and now as the office manager for NEST (Nature, Environment, Science & Technology) Studio for the Arts. These skills are at the heart of why Guillery is the recipient of the 2022 Anne K. Heinz Staff Award for Excellence in Outreach and Engagement

The annual award is given to a staff member who goes above and beyond to establish and support community-engaged scholarship (i.e., teaching, creative work, or research) between ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� and outside communities. The recipient is granted $5,000 to support program needs identified by the staff member and sponsoring department.

NEST was established in 2017 to enhance cross-campus collaboration and community outreach. It develops art-science exhibitions, funds graduate fellowships and offers community grants. NEST focuses on current issues such as climate change, human rights, resource scarcity, and other environmental concerns.

Guillery was nominated by Erin Espelie, co-director of NEST and associate professor in cinema studies and the moving image arts and critical media practices. Espelie credits Guillery, a half-time employee, with introducing NEST to tens of thousands of people by stewarding over 100 exhibitions, community events, lectures, film screenings, panel discussions and workshops. Seventy-five percent of the events were presented to audiences external to campus. And, NEST’s productivity increased during COVID thanks to Guillery’s approach and passion for the work.

“NEST’s success is due to its openness, flexibility and ability to be creative within partnerships and funding,” said Guillery. “��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� has resources that community organizations often don’t. Us sharing improves the experience for everyone. It’s about listening and then coordinating and then listening again and coordinating some more.”

Guillery’s generosity and natural curiosity helps NEST break down ideas about who can collaborate. NEST works with nearly 30 departments at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, supporting mainly graduate students in their explorations outside their own fields of study. Broadening her own horizons and helping others do the same is Guillery’s favorite part of the job. She finds great value in learning what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes or to work with different styles.

“Students have said that NEST has given them more opportunities to think about their work broadly. For example, a chemical engineer worked with a ceramicist and created a wall hanging that absorbs toxicity from the air in nail salons. Our students have the opportunity to think of scholarship in a community-centered way and across disciplines. The fresh approach also helps leverage funds from different grant sources,” said Guillery.

Guillery finds satisfaction supporting engaged scholarship work, because NEST’s work happens without the limitations of traditional institutional boundaries and helps to actualize work that probably wouldn’t be funded through traditional channels. She also thinks university staff are more influential than they sometimes assume.

“Department admins make the human connections and create the community at CU. So, if we invest time trying to connect people with the external community, the scholarship happening by students and others can be brought to more people,” urged Guillery. “Outreach is critical to providing opportunities for everyone to see that there is scholarship that is collaborative, synergistic, applicable and approachable. Scholars don’t only stay on campus in formal settings.”

The 2022 Anne K. Heinz Staff Award for Excellence in Outreach and Engagement was presented on April 20 to Guillery at the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Outreach Awards Luncheon. Charla Agnoletti and Nomita Chhabildas (2020 and 2021 recipients) were also honored at the luncheon—the first held since 2019.

Joanne Guillery is the recipient of the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��'s 2022 Anne K. Heinz Staff Award for Excellence in Outreach and Engagement.

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Awards and Achievements

���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ student Anastasia Gallegos-Roque receives Newman Civic Fellowship

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��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� student Anastasia Gallegos-Roque receives Newman Civic Fellowship