Baile named to 2020-21 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows

East Carolina University sophomore Maggie Baile was selected for the 2020-21 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows by Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education.

Baile was one of 290 students selected for the largest group of Newman Civic Fellows to date. She is a security studies and political science double major and a member of the Honors College.

Honors College sophomore Maggie Baile was selected as one of the 2020-21 Newman Civic Fellows, a program that recognizes community-committed students. (Contributed photo)

“I am extremely honored to not only be a Newman Civic Fellow but to also represent East Carolina at this level,” Baile said. “I believe that we are in a unique position as a university to impact higher education and its potential to change lives. I am so excited for this new journey and can’t wait to learn from mentors as well as other students.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship is a yearlong program for students from Campus Compact member institutions. The students selected for the fellowship are leaders on their campuses who demonstrate a commitment to finding solutions for challenges facing communities locally, nationally and internationally.

“Maggie Baile is a student leader passionate about ending the issue of sexual assault. Over the past year she has been working on campus to spread the word about resources offered to students who experience sexual assault,” ECU Interim Chancellor Ron Mitchelson said. “Through partnerships with the community and university, she hopes to create a multidisciplinary approach that not only provides aid to those impacted, but also create a new curriculum that better educates the reality of the issue.”

Baile has been interested in politics and government since her sophomore year in high school and believes that it takes only one person to make a change.

“It was only in recent history that women were given the right to vote, and I do not take the opportunity lightly,” she said. “I have tried to do this within my university through the collaboration with other students in both the community and the classroom. In the future I want to help others be more aware of the chance to enact positive change through civic involvement.”

The fellowship is named for one of Campus Compact’s founders, Frank Newman, who was a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education. Through the fellowship, students engage in a variety of learning and networking events, including a national conference, virtual trainings and pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

The program is supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation. Learn more on Campus Compact’s Newman Civic Fellowship website.

-by Kristen Martin, University Communications