Greetings!

For both newcomers and ENGAGE blog regulars, I am probably an unfamiliar face, so I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself as Wesleyan’s Civic Engagement Fellow for 2014-2015.

My name is Rosy Capron and I graduated in May with a degree in the College of Social Studies. While at Wesleyan, I was involved in a wide array of activities (perhaps spreading myself a bit thin at some points), and on any given day I could be found pulling weeds for WILD Wes, tutoring at Woodrow Wilson Middle School, holding debates on feminist activism with Rho Epsilon Pi, or working with students as a Writing Mentor. It was only last fall in Donald Moon’s course on the Foundations of Civic Engagement, however, that I came to understand the role that these extracurricular commitments had played in my education and in the Wesleyan community. Several authors we read argued that democratic citizenship requires skills that must be learned through repeated and painstaking practice, through attempts to work together and to make decisions, and this was certainly true of my Wesleyan experience. Civic engagement molded me into a better community member and leader, and I had loads of fun in the process. What brings me to the Civic Engagement Fellowship this year is a desire to help students find similarly enriching and enjoyable experiences that enhance their own education while also contributing to the communities around them.

My personal interests lie at the intersection of civic engagement and urbanism, particularly in the areas of participatory planning and alternatives to gentrification. But my chief passion is to help others find their own passions, so feel free to contact me by email or to stop by my office in Allbritton 318 to discuss how and why to become more engaged.