“The most meaningful part of this experience working with the Champaign Park District has been the ability to interact with the community members. I always say the University can feel like a bubble and you miss out on so many connections with such a lively and culture rich community just five minutes away. It makes it even more important to me because I was able to make so many connections with people who looked like me and had the same stories as me growing up.”

- Kaiya Bernard, 2022 Community-Academic Scholar

“Working with [2024 Community-Academic Scholar] Diamond Smith was a complete joy. It kept me thinking and motivated to keep in the fight for advocating for the overall wellbeing of children and the community. Diamond brought a level of thoughtfulness and attention to the current needs of the community that I want to see leaders have in the future.”

- Tonya Carter, founder, The Carter Education & Community Foundation

“For future scholars thinking about applying, I would recommend just going for it. It can seem intimidating considering the number of applicants and who gets accepted, but if you truly feel passionate about the work you could potentially be doing, take a leap of faith and submit an application. We all have unique talents and experiences that could really prove beneficial to different research projects.”

- Michelle Garcia, 2021 Community-Academic Scholar