In recognition of her work addressing housing insecurity and homelessness, Ithaca College student Maria Bushby ’20 has been named a 2019 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a national organization committed to advancing community service in higher education. The sociology major was one of 262 college students selected for a fellowship.
Through her involvement with Ithaca College’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity and local organizations like Second Wind Cottages and the Ithaca Rescue Mission, Bushby has become a student leader in efforts to alleviate homelessness in Tompkins County, New York. Bushby has also spent summers volunteering with the Appalachia Service Project, an organization that repairs homes for low-income families in rural Central Appalachia.
“I believe that every person deserves and needs a place that they can call home,” said Bushby. “I am so thankful for the opportunity to become a fellow for the Compact, and to have the chance to work with people on the grassroots level to make positive change surrounding homelessness and affordable housing.”
Ithaca College President Shirley M. Collado nominated Bushby for the fellowship. “Through her involvement with the Habitat for Humanity and other organizations actively combating homelessness in our region, Maria is making a difference in the lives of local residents and their families,” Collado wrote in her nominating letter. “While Maria’s efforts and accomplishments to date have been outstanding, I am excited to see what she will do in the future.”
This is the eighth straight year that an Ithaca College student has been named a Newman Civic Fellow. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.
Campus Compact is a nonprofit national coalition of colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. Supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation, the fellowship honors the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders and a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education.