A Newman Civic Fellow times two

College of Saint Benedict junior Meg Schrafft and Saint John's University junior James Pathoulas were named 2015 Newman Civic Fellows by Campus Compact.

Campus Compact is a national coalition of nearly 1,100 college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education to improve community life and to educate students for civic and social responsibility.

A record 201 students received the honor this year. The students are nominated by their college and university presidents.

Schrafft, a biology major from Lakeville, Minnesota, is "a student leader committed to addressing issues of health inequality," said CSB President Mary Dana Hinton in Schrafft's nominating letter.

She helped start the Global Health Affairs club, which organizes a medical mission trip to Honduras each summer for CSB and SJU students. As part of the Bonner Leader Scholarship program, Schrafft participated in service activities with United Cerebral Palsy of Central Minnesota, Catholic Charities, Casa Guadalupe Multicultural Community, among others.

Schrafft was appointed to the Bonner Leadership Team in December 2013 and coordinates social events, welcomes new Bonner leaders and develops team bonding activities. She also coordinates service learning opportunities for CSB students as an academic coordinator for Service Learning, connecting students with non-profits around central Minnesota. Schrafft also served as an AmeriCorps VISTA summer associate for the CSB Community Kitchen.

Pathoulas, an integrative health science major from Mantorville, Minnesota, "has demonstrated a great commitment to giving of himself to provide opportunities to others," said SJU President Michael Hemesath in Pathoulas' nominating letter.

He serves as the student site coordinator and unified partner for Special Olympics Swimming St. Cloud delegation. Pathoulas is a member of the CSB/SJU Cultural Affairs Board, organizing educational events focused on promoting cultural competency. He was a peer mentor in the Best Pals program through the CSB/SJU DIFFERbilities Club.

Pathoulas is vice president of the CSB/SJU Pre-Medicine Club, and is a certified nursing assistant. He recently was part of a four-member team from CSB and SJU that participated in an undergraduate research project titled "Treatment of Esophageal Varices" in the Mayo Innovative Scholars Program at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. He completed undergraduate research in summer 2014 at Southwest University in China and SJU.

The awards, presented in honor of Frank Newman, a former president of the University of Rhode Island and one of the founders of Campus Compact, are sponsored by the KPMG Foundation.