Humanities in Action Scholars 2023–24
We CU, Humanities Research Institute Announce 2023–24 Humanities in Action Scholars
We CU and the Humanities Research Institute (HRI) are proud to announce the 2023–2024 Humanities in Action scholars. The new cohort is composed of five students from the colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Applied Health Sciences, and Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, who will begin the program in fall 2023.
Now in its second year, the Humanities in Action program (HIA) aims to remove some of the financial barriers that prevent undergraduate humanities students from taking advantage of community engagement opportunities.
Selected by a competitive application process, HIA scholars are then matched—through the Community Learning Lab in the School of Social Work—with a community partner to address a vital area of need in the Champaign-Urbana community. The students will also attend workshops to strengthen their community partnerships and build connections with like-minded peers, and will learn more about HRI’s opportunities and the broader community of humanists at Illinois.
Join us in congratulating this talented group of students!
MEET THE SCHOLARS
Sophie Campa (class of 2025) is majoring in speech and hearing sciences with a concentration in speech-language pathology and a minor in disability studies. She is a James Scholar and Chancellor's Scholar, and is active in the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association at the University of Illinois. Sophie also serves as a course assistant for STAT 100, where she works to support student success. As a member of the community engagement committee for the Campus Honors program, she helps create and organize different volunteering experiences for members, including a collaboration with Habit for Humanity. Through Humanities in Action, she hopes to further her education in intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as Deaf Culture, within our community.
Yousra Mahmoud (class of 2026) is a double major in sociology and English with a minor in Arabic. The daughter of two Sudanese immigrants, Yousra is a Chancellor’s Scholar who works as a programming intern at the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center and is the vice president of Mariama Black Student Union.
Sydney Turner (class of 2025) is a social psychology and communication major with a minor in gender and women's studies. She is a James Scholar, an intern and peer educator with the Women's Resources Center, an Illinois Student Admissions Representative (I-STAR), and is involved in Writers Organizing Realistic Dialect (W.O.R.D.). Sydney plans to pursue a legal career, with specific interest in advocating for survivors of sexual and domestic violence. She’s passionate about intersectional feminism, reproductive rights, and racial equity, as well as expressing these passions through fine arts and creative writing.
Araceli Urbina (class of 2025) is majoring in human development and family studies with a concentration in child health and well-being and a minor in Latina/Latino Studies. She is a member of the Human Development and Family Studies Ambassadors (HDFSA) and a volunteer teacher assistant and tutor for a second grade classroom at Champaign Unit 4 School District's only school-wide Spanish-English Dual Language Program, International Prep Academy (IPA). As an advocate for biculturalism, Araceli is particularly interested in efforts that aid in closing the enrollment and attainment gap between Hispanic and white students in higher education.
Jessica Vargas (class of 2024) is majoring in political science and involved with the Latino Student Association and Prospanica, which have strengthened her connections with the Latino community on campus and have helped her develop professional skills. Passionate about criminal and social justice, she is interested in a career in law and public service. As an HIA scholar in fall 2022, she volunteered with the University YMCA's Immigrant Family Services.