Program combines community service, studies

The pioneer group of Penn Civic Scholars has arrived on campus.

Penn welcomed its first group of Civic Scholars this semester, and its students are set for a college career immersed in community service.

The Civic Scholars program, thought up by Civic House faculty director Walter Licht less than two years ago, aims to integrate academic achievement and civic engagement.

While Penn offers students many opportunities to help out in the community, Licht said he was out to create something different.

"I wanted a four-year program that was sequential, progressive and would culminate in a research project," he said.

Fifteen students were hand-picked from the admitted Class of 2011 to participate in this one-of-a-kind program.

The scholars met with University President Amy Gutmann Wednesday to partake in the program's premiere proseminar, "Citizenship: Past, Present, Future," which focused on both local and global definitions of citizenship.

Political Science professor Rogers Smith began the discussion with his own thoughts on the various concepts of citizenship.

Gutmann then challenged the Civic Scholars to live "in a world that doesn't allow you to just be global, or just be local."

In addition to attending six proseminars during each of their first two years, students are also required to take five approved courses, participate in community service for at least five semesters, have a paid summer internship and complete a capstone research project.

This year's students are enthusiastic about the program and hopeful for a great experience.

"It's a humanizing experience to see people like yourself doing extraordinary things," College freshman Allison Roland said. "Being surrounded by other people who are dedicated to civic engagement is crucial to this program's success."

College freshman Sourav Bose said he viewed the program as a learning experience.

"I look at it as vocational training. We gain knowledge of theoretical aspects of service, of how things we do affect issues in society," Bose said.

"Since we're the first group, we have the ability to shape the program and make a big impact on campus," College freshman Brian Mertens said.

Licht said the selection process for the Class of 2011 Civic Scholars involved selecting a small group of accepted students from all four undergraduate schools who met specific criteria.

Important factors included the candidates' choices of personal essay topics about advocacy, as well as letters of recommendation corroborating the civic work students mentioned in their essays.

High academic achievement and extracurricular activities were also considered, Licht said.

This year, Penn's application includes a short statement describing the program and directing interested students to the Civic Scholars Web site.

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