CCRL Fellows

Become a CCRL Fellow

The CCRL Fellows afford Millersville students an opportunity to develop and master skills that are essential for being civically engaged and active in the communities where they live, work, and study. This program provides the potential opportunity for students to familiarize themselves with Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. Students may engage in learning opportunities including career development and planning, leadership growth and development, community engagement, professional communication, and personal communication skills. The group will build an awareness of how public policy is shaped by national and global issues while working as both individuals and a team to further civic engagement.

Students will also have the opportunity to interact with individuals who shape the world we live in—lobbyists, members of think tanks, members of non-profit organizations, members of the media, as well as those who work in the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government.

In addition to these potential trips, participants must be willing to make a yearlong commitment to the Fellowship and to Millersville's CCRL program. All participants will be expected to aid in the planning, advertising, and execution of a variety of civic and community events, including: 

  • Constitution Week

  • Voter Registration Drives

  • Policy Webinar & Current Issues

These events will offer students the opportunity to put the skills they learned into action in a variety of ways, and they will also be afforded the opportunity to continue to learn and grow as leaders throughout the year. Students will also get to create some sort of reflective piece on their experience with CCRL—a video, a podcast, a journal—and these pieces will be showcased and archived for future leaders.

APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2024-2025 ACADEMIC YEAR ARE NOW CLOSED

We are still looking for interested students who are eligible for work study to apply for our Student Worker position.

Please reach out to our email ccrl@millersville.edu with any questions that you may have about opportunities to work with CCRL.

APPLY TO BE A CCRL STUDENT WORKER HERE

MEET THE FELLOWS

“As a Fellow, I have learned the importance of sharing your opinion and letting your voice be heard. My favorite part about being a Fellow is helping with voter registration.”

- Hailey Peirce | Majoring in Marine Biology with Minors in Chemistry and Environmental Policy | Class of 2027

“What I have learned as a Fellow for CCRL thus far is that it isn't impossible to connect to local policymakers! We have a very powerful voice as young college students and we should be using that to our advantage to advocate for ourselves and influence major policies. My favorite part of being a Fellow is being able to meet other college students who have the same passion for diplomacy and advocacy as I do. It's refreshing to see more people like me!”

- Campbell Eckenrode | Majoring in Government, Policy & Law and Minoring in Sustainability Studies | Class of 2025

“I would love to have a career in the non-profit space designing for causes that make a difference. I thought this would be an excellent introduction into getting people excited about making a change in the world around them. Though not exactly civic engagement, I do currently volunteer for a non-profit called Trans Minors Rights that is focused on education, advocacy and care for transgender minors. ”

- Erin Berry | Majoring in Interactive & Graphic Design | Class of 2026

“I believe this Fellowship program will provide me with an opportunity to gain practical experience that will be essential to my goal of promoting civic engagement to improve educational policies. This Fellowship will not only benefit my career but also me as a person and be an effective educator. ”

- Ella Vilardo | Majoring in Early Childhood Education and Special Education | Class of 2027

“The reason that I applied to be a Fellow was to increase political literacy within my community. I have past experience with civic engagement through campaigning with my mother as a child as well as volunteer work.”

- Wyatt Potter | Majoring in Exploratory Studies | Class of 2027

“I applied to be a Fellow because I think it's important to participate in your community, especially by voting. I'd love to help others do so. I also think it would be a lot of fun to meet like-minded people and learn more about government and civic engagement through the field trips and activities. ”

- Sidney Bernhardt | Majoring in Social Studies Education | Class of 2027

“I applied to be a Fellow because I want to gain more experience with public policy. As a disability advocate, I have raised awareness for the statewide, bipartisan Disability Inclusive Curriculum Act which was signed into law in 2022. I’ve also written a song in support of Pennsylvania’s Family Care Act, and written legislation about K-12 school attendance policy.”

- Christian Huber | Majoring in Disability Studies | Class of 2026

PAST FELLOWS

“Being a Fellow at CCRL has given me the opportunity to grow both in my studies and as a citizen. Using my voice to emphasize the importance of civic engagement has been one of the highlights of my college career. My favorite part about being a Fellow is hosting events with legislators on campus.”

- Marissa Schmidt | Majoring in Government, Policy & Law and Minoring in International Studies | Class of 2026

“Through being a Fellow I learned how responsive government officials and organizations can be to their citizens if you organize well. My favorite part of being a Fellow is educating people on how to vote and other ways to get involved. ”

- Justin Deibler | Majoring in Social Studies Secondary Education and Minoring in Government, Policy & Law | Class of 2025

“Every individual can benefit from knowing what is going on in local politics and government. Civic engagement taught me that voting is very important, and each vote counts! I learned a lot about the public education system and how politicians are fighting for a change in the amount of funding that they receive. Because of my time as a Fellow, I intend to keep up with the changes happening regarding the public education system. My favorite part of being a Fellow with CCRL was all of the people I got to meet and events I got to experience. I made friends with the other Fellows, and I met and connected with different faculty from the university, as well as local politicians, PA Senators, and PA Representatives. ”

- Claire Eberly | Majored in Social Work | Class of 2024

“As a Fellow for the Center for Civic Responsibility and Leadership (CCRL), I had the opportunity to learn how to engage the community in civic matters and I had the opportunity to take part in a research project on campus. This learning opportunity helped me to gain experience and build skills that I can apply to my work as a social worker. While CCRL is separate from my degree program, CCRL also gave me the opportunity to apply what I was learning in the classroom into real life experiences. My favorite part of being a Fellow was interprofessional collaboration with other Fellows from other departments. It was a great experience coming together to plan events that educate and empower the community. ”

- Evelyn Morales | Majored in Social Work | Class of 2024

“As a Fellow, I am excited to serve my campus community through good governance and civic engagement! As an Eagle Scout I learned the responsibilities of a good citizen and how to be a proper servant leader. In 2018 I was awarded the Good Citizenship award by the Union League of Philadelphia for my service as a scout. In this society I have served as unit representative, chapter vice president, chapter president, leadership development committee chairman, unit representative committee chair, and now currently as an advisor in the organization. Since attending Millersville I've held the position of secretary for the College Republicans and Vice President and then President of the College Democrats. I was also the communications director for the PA College Democrats and a Political Consultant for David Brown campaign in PA’s 166th district.”

- Andrew Geer | Majored in Government and Political Affairs | Class of 2024

“I want to eventually get my PhD in History and become a professor of social American history. Some of my interests include board games, musical theater, photography, crafting, script writing for my upcoming podcast and social media.”

- Grace E. Celley | Majored in History with Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Class of 2024