CCRL Fellows

Become a CCRL Fellow

The CCRL Fellows afford Millersville students an opportunity to develop and master skills that are essential for being civically engaged and active in the communities where they live, work, and study. This program provides the potential opportunity for students to familiarize themselves with Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. Students may engage in learning opportunities including career development and planning, leadership growth and development, community engagement, professional communication, and personal communication skills. The group will build an awareness of how public policy is shaped by national and global issues while working as both individuals and a team to further civic engagement.

Students will also have the opportunity to interact with individuals who shape the world we live in—lobbyists, members of think tanks, members of non-profit organizations, members of the media, as well as those who work in the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government.

In addition to these potential trips, participants must be willing to make a yearlong commitment to the Fellowship and to Millersville's CCRL program. All participants will be expected to aid in the planning, advertising, and execution of a variety of civic and community events, including: 

  • Constitution Week

  • Voter Registration Drives

  • Policy Webinar & Current Issues

These events will offer students the opportunity to put the skills they learned into action in a variety of ways, and they will also be afforded the opportunity to continue to learn and grow as leaders throughout the year. Students will also get to create some sort of reflective piece on their experience with CCRL—a video, a podcast, a journal—and these pieces will be showcased and archived for future leaders.

now accepting APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2026-2027 ACADEMIC YEAR!

Both an internal application and a Millersville University student worker application are required:

Apply to be a fellow HERE!

MU Student Worker Application

Please reach out to our main email (ccrl@millersville.edu) or Graduate Assistant, Samantha Bare
(sabare@millersville.edu) with any questions you may have about opportunities to work with CCRL.

MEET THE FELLOWS

“As a Fellow, I have learned the importance of sharing your opinion and letting your voice be heard. My favorite part about being a Fellow is helping with voter registration.”

- Hailey Peirce | Marine Biology with Minors in Chemistry and Environmental Policy | Class of 2027

“I believe this Fellowship program will provide me with an opportunity to gain practical experience that will be essential to my goal of promoting civic engagement to improve educational policies. This Fellowship will not only benefit my career but also me as a person and be an effective educator. ”

- Ella Vilardo | Early Childhood Education and Special Education | Class of 2027

“I applied to be a Fellow because I think it's important to participate in your community, especially by voting. I'd love to help others do so. I also think it would be a lot of fun to meet like-minded people and learn more about government and civic engagement through the field trips and activities. ”

- Sidney Bernhardt | Social Studies Education | Class of 2027

PAST FELLOWS

“As a Fellow for the Center for Civic Responsibility and Leadership (CCRL), I had the opportunity to learn how to engage the community in civic matters and I had the opportunity to take part in a research project on campus. This learning opportunity helped me to gain experience and build skills that I can apply to my work as a social worker. While CCRL is separate from my degree program, CCRL also gave me the opportunity to apply what I was learning in the classroom into real life experiences. My favorite part of being a Fellow was interprofessional collaboration with other Fellows from other departments. It was a great experience coming together to plan events that educate and empower the community. ”

- Evelyn Morales | Social Work | Class of 2024 | Current Director of Integrated Studies at Millersville

“Through being a Fellow I learned how responsive government officials and organizations can be to their citizens if you organize well. My favorite part of being a Fellow is educating people on how to vote and other ways to get involved. ”

- Justin Deibler | Social Studies Secondary Education with Minor in Government, Policy & Law | Class of 2025

“What I have learned as a Fellow for CCRL thus far is that it isn't impossible to connect to local policymakers! We have a very powerful voice as young college students and we should be using that to our advantage to advocate for ourselves and influence major policies. My favorite part of being a Fellow is being able to meet other college students who have the same passion for diplomacy and advocacy as I do. It's refreshing to see more people like me!”

- Campbell Eckenrode | Government, Policy & Law with Minor in Sustainability Studies | Class of 2025

“I would love to have a career in the non-profit space designing for causes that make a difference. I thought this would be an excellent introduction into getting people excited about making a change in the world around them. Though not exactly civic engagement, I do currently volunteer for a non-profit called Trans Minors Rights that is focused on education, advocacy and care for transgender minors. ”

- Erin Berry | Interactive & Graphic Design | Class of 2026

“I applied to be a Fellow because I want to gain more experience with public policy. As a disability advocate, I have raised awareness for the statewide, bipartisan Disability Inclusive Curriculum Act which was signed into law in 2022. I’ve also written a song in support of Pennsylvania’s Family Care Act, and written legislation about K-12 school attendance policy.”

- Christian Huber | Disability Studies | Class of 2026

“Being a Fellow at CCRL has given me the opportunity to grow both in my studies and as a citizen. Using my voice to emphasize the importance of civic engagement has been one of the highlights of my college career. My favorite part about being a Fellow is hosting events with legislators on campus.”

- Marissa Schmidt | Government, Policy & Law with Minor in International Studies | Class of 2026

“The reason that I applied to be a Fellow was to increase political literacy within my community. I have past experience with civic engagement through campaigning with my mother as a child as well as volunteer work.”

- Wyatt Potter | Exploratory Studies | Class of 2027