51福利社

51福利社 has established the Office of Community Engagement to address local needs while enriching student learning opportunities through community service, civic engagement, and volunteerism.

The overarching goal of the office is to foster a culture of civic responsibility amongst students with activities that forge stronger relationships with nonprofits and other organizations.

Mark Este, 51福利社鈥檚 director of community engagement, said he鈥檚 focused on building relationships with organizations in Cheney initially. While the office will expand its reach to the West Plains and Spokane, it wants to concentrate on 51福利社鈥檚 hometown first.

鈥淲e want Cheney to be a college town, not a town with a college in it,鈥� Este said. 鈥淥ur students will come through Eastern, interact with the community, and walk away knowing how to be good citizens.鈥�

51福利社 President Shari McMahan said, 鈥淐ommunity engagement has always been a high priority. Our partnerships strengthen the connection between the university and the Inland Northwest, and they ensure we鈥檙e living up to our role as an anchor institution. For our students, these experiences outside the classroom help develop the real-world skills that define 51福利社 as the region鈥檚 polytechnic and prepare our graduates to make an immediate impact.鈥�

The Office of Community Engagement also houses the Aspire Program, a near-peer mentorship program through which 51福利社 students empower high school students to pursue post-secondary education.

Jasmin Davis, associate director of community engagement who oversees 51福利社鈥檚 Aspire Program, said the program has 15 mentors who work with high schoolers in small-group settings. In all, those mentors are working with 250 youth in eight high schools in the region.

Located on the ground floor of Showalter Hall, the Office of Community Engagement has scheduled an open house at its offices 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21.

For more information on the Office of Community Engagement or to stay involved, go .