Scholar-Citizen Initiative
What is it the Scholar-Citizen Initiative?
The Scholar-Citizen Initiative (SCI) is a program on campus I participated in at Radford University that provides support and opportunities for students to use their academic experiences for civic contributions. Read more about SCI here. As a scientist, SCI means taking my own experiences and passions as a person and through research and making connections to the community.
How I got involved with SCI I initially heard about SCI as a funding source for undergraduate research. The program was relatively new and growing at that point, and after applying, I became 1 of 5 Highlander-in-Action grant recipients (now called Scholar-Citizen-in-Action). I have been working closely with SCI since then, and I have greatly benefited by doing so. Read about my Capstone Reflection here. |
What does it require to become a Scholar-Citizen Fellow?
To graduate as a Scholar-Citizen Fellow, students must not only make achievements inside and outside the classroom, but make achievements that tie the two together. How is the knowledge learned in the classroom being used to better our community? First, a student must meet the criteria to graduate with Scholar-Citizen status, then progress to meet additional requirements to graduate as a SCI fellow. Much of the criteria are student driven and require organization and independence; SCI merely provides the opportunity and mentorship for students to achieve these goals. The flexibility of the SCI criteria allows for students from a wide variety of backgrounds and passions to become Scholar-Citizens.
My Scholar-Citizen Journey
Read about my Scholar Citizen Journey in my Capstone Reflection. It portrays what completing the SCI program has done for me. To see what I accomplished to complete the SCI requirements, take a look at my SCI Work Matrix.