Amari Leigh ’21 Named 2018 Newman Civic Fellow

Amari Leigh ’21 has been named a 2018 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a Boston-based non-profit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education.

The Newman Civic Fellowship recognizes and supports community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. The fellowship, named for Campus Compact founder Frank Newman, provides training and resources that nurture students’ assets and passions to help them develop strategies to achieve social change.               

Leigh is a student assistant at Hamilton’s Levitt Center and a volunteer with Project SHINE that provides English language tutoring to Utica-area refugees. She is participating in the Levitt Leadership Institute, attending training at the Highlander Research and Education Center in Tennessee.

Leigh is also co-president of Garden Gurus, a group of students committed to creating a dynamic and supportive relationship between Hamilton students, faculty, and staff and Hamilton’s Community Garden, and is a member of BLSU.                

Leigh received training at Stanford University as a Global Citizen Year Fellow for 2016-17.  In 2017 she was a student ambassador for the United Nations Foundation and served as spokesperson for the film SOLD and its campaign #taughtnottrafficked at the 2017 UN Foundation’s annual Model UN conference.

Leigh is also a professionally trained actor, appearing in Tony Award-winning Broadway and off-Broadway productions. She received Lincoln Center Theater’s Joan & Joseph Cullman Award for Extraordinary Creativity.

Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides learning opportunities focused on the skills fellows need in order to serve as effective agents of change in addressing public problems and building equitable communities. Fellows have access to in-person and virtual learning opportunities, networking events, and mentoring.