Volume I | October 2020
“Sometimes you need to get knocked down before you can really figure out what your fight is. And how you need to fight it.” — Chadwick Boseman
Message from the Associate Director
Associate Director’s Message

My name is Miguel Colón and I am the Associate Director for Community Outreach (CO) in Student Activities. Even though this is the beginning of my second year in this position, we have had a lot to do. After so many years of stability with our wonderful staff, CO found itself short-staffed! Nonetheless, we made some progress in hiring new staff members, but then COVID-19 changed life as we know it. The CO Team jumped into action by connecting with our community partners and maintaining contact with all our student leaders after a sudden end to the Spring 2020 semester. This was just the beginning.

Today’s world has exposed the need for our work. CO is aware of the injustices that people face every day. We recognize that issues like access to education, access to social and health services, lack of anti-racism initiatives, and voting suppression (to mention a few) still plague our society. We find ourselves trying to create service opportunities that are safe for our student leaders, participants and community partners. We will need to do this together!

I hope this newsletter gives you a glimpse of Community Outreach and what we are up to. Please be safe and make sure you vote!

Special Thanks to Anna Milot and our Public Relations team- Gladi & Ryan for making this happen!
Program Spotlights

America Reads

In America Reads, volunteers help K-12 students improve their literacy in order to bridge achievement gaps so students can be successful in school and in life. This program has had to change from in-person tutoring sessions to an online reading repository. In this repository, volunteers will record themselves reading books as well as host comprehension discussions and online writing workshops. This repository, which serves to supplement what students are learning in school, will also now be available to students across the state rather than the few schools that volunteers went to previously.


Alternative Breaks

Alternative Breaks is a program where students go on trips across the country to make positive impacts in underserved communities. Being that a major component of this program is travel, Alt Breaks has had to make some adjustments and revisit the goals of the program. This semester, the program will run mostly online while still fulfilling their goals of service and engagement by doing advocacy and policy work as well as having a focus on service in students' own communities.

*This photo was taken before the COVID-19 pandemic*

Community Service Days

Community Service Days is geared towards students who want to participate in low commitment, one-time volunteer projects. The program is offering multiple online service opportunities this semester that run for two weeks where students complete any number of hours they wish and then participate in an online reflection session. Some of the service opportunities include being pen pals for nursing home residents, being a TED Talk translator, making STEM activity video tutorials for children, and so much more.

Alumni Spotlight
Alexis Cortes
Class of 2020

"Community Outreach set the foundation for where I am now"

Alexis got involved in Community Outreach during her sophomore year as a participant on an Alternative Break trip centered around homelessness and political action in D.C. At the time, she didn’t really know where she fit on campus or what she wanted to do in the future. After she went on the trip, she discovered that she wanted to dedicate her life to public service. Alexis went on to become a trip leader and then the Alternative Breaks student coordinator.

Alexis is currently in the first year of the public policy masters program at UConn and is the Graduate Assistant for Community Outreach. In her position, she helps students navigate potential careers in non-profits and social services as a part of the Careers for the Common Good Program. She helps organize career fairs, helps with resume critiques and does so much more to support students and their career aspirations.

Alexis is interested in housing policy, education policy and reproductive policy but she hopes to go into higher education to help students engage in activism in their school and their communities at large.

If you are a CO alumni who would like to be featured, email us at uconn.co.comm@gmail.com
Get Out and Vote!


Election Day is November 3rd and it is time to make your voice heard.

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