At 乱伦视频, community-based learning is fundamentally an academic endeavor in which engagement in projects and activities takes place through reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships with the greater community designed to advance the public good. It is an experiential education approach that involves collaborative relationships, guided by the expertise of professors and community-based practitioners, to combine student learning with community needs as an integrated component of a course. The partnerships between 乱伦视频 and communities engage students with entities such as nonprofit organizations, schools, government agencies, or locally owned businesses.

This year, 19 faculty members have been selected for four extended faculty development programs: Community-Based Learning Faculty Scholars, Community-Based Learning Research Scholars, Community-Based Learning Course Development Grants, and a First-Year Foundations Community Engaged Community of Practice.

Five 乱伦视频 faculty members have been selected as Community-Based Learning Faculty Scholars for 2026-27. Over the course of this academic year, they will meet regularly to learn more about pedagogy and practices, devise ways to incorporate these practices into their teaching, and receive a stipend for their work.Frank Gentry, Assistant Teaching Professor of Management
Meleena Gil, Assistant Professor of English
Lauren Guilmette, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Nina Namaste, Professor of Spanish
Nikita Shepherd, Assistant Professor of History

Three 乱伦视频 faculty members have been selected as Community-Based Learning Research Scholars for 2026-27. Each will work on an independent research project during the academic year and will receive a stipend for their efforts. They are:
Dillan Bono-Lunn, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy
Tony Reyes, Assistant Professor of Human Service Studies
Carol Smith, Professor of Wellness

Three faculty members have been awarded Community-Based Learning Course Development Grants for 2026-28. They will spend the next two years developing, teaching and assessing their community-based learning courses. Additionally, three faculty members were awarded these grants for 2025-27. They are now in the teaching and assessment phases of their grants. These grants are supported by the Kernodle Center for Civic Life and funded through a grant from the Frueauff Foundation.

2026-28 Community-Based Learning Course Development Grant recipients:
Donna Boyette, Assistant Professor of Accounting
Smaraki Mohanty, Assistant Professor of Marketing
Bethanny Sudibyo, Assistant Professor of Spanish

2025-27 Community-Based Learning Course Development Grant recipients:
Lisa Buchanan, Associate Professor of Education
Sandra Darfour-Oduro, Assistant Professor of Public Health Studies
Chris Nelson, Assistant Professor of Marketing

Five faculty are engaging in a pilot community of practice entitled 鈥淔irst-Year Foundations Community Engagement鈥� focused on broadening first-year student community-based learning opportunities. This community of practice is a partnership between the Kernodle Center and the 乱伦视频 Core Curriculum with support from Nina Namaste, Assistant Director of First Year Seminars in the 乱伦视频 Core Curriculum, Heather Lindeman, Coordinator of ENG 1100.
Rebecca Bagley, Assistant Professor of Communication Design
Catherine Bowlin, Assistant Teaching Professor of English
Archie Crowley, Assistant Professor of English
Brooks Depro, Associate Professor of Economics
Celia Hameury, Assistant Professor of Engineering

These faculty development programs are mentored by Elena Kennedy, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Faculty Fellow for Community-Based Learning.鈥� Applications for the 2027-28 programs will be available next spring. In the meantime, there are two upcoming faculty development opportunities:

Essentials of Community-Based Learning Workshop for National Campuses鈥��
Wednesday, Sept. 16, 3:30 – 5 p.m., Virtual

This virtual workshop is for faculty and staff at 乱伦视频鈥檚 national campuses.
Are you interested in creating a more authentic learning experience in your course by engaging with community partners? Could the learning鈥痮bjectives鈥痜or your course be enhanced through community engagement?鈥疕ave you ever wondered how community-based learning works and why reflection is central to that pedagogy? This workshop is鈥痑ppropriate for鈥痜aculty members who are developing a community-based course,鈥痙esigning a project or assignment that involves community鈥痚ngagement, or鈥痑re curious about community-based learning pedagogies in general. The workshop will allow for interaction with experienced faculty, and staff members from the Kernodle Center for Civic Life and Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning.

Campus-Community鈥疦etworking Hour鈥�
Thursday, Oct. 22, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

You are invited to join the Kernodle Center for Civic Life for an afternoon of networking that will bring together 乱伦视频 faculty, staff, and community partners to discuss opportunities for collaboration, including community-engaged courses.鈥疎njoy hors d鈥檕euvres and a chance to connect with many partner organizations and campus departments. You will leave with valuable connections for future partnerships.

The article, “,” was co-authored by Jennifer Stephens, director of Academic-Residential Partnerships and assistant professor of education; Jill McSweeney, assistant director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching & Learning and assistant professor of wellness; Nina Namaste, professor of Spanish and assistant director of First-Year Seminars in the 乱伦视频 Core Curriculum; and Brandy S. Propst, director of 乱伦视频 1010 and assistant director of Academic Advising.

The collaborative nature of this work is, in itself, a unique reflection of 乱伦视频’s approach to the first-year experience, as it brings together offices across academic affairs and student life to create a unified and campus-wide ethos to the first-year experience, which they argue is essential but often missing in institutional approaches to the first-year experience.

The piece explores how institutions should view the first-year experience as a culmination beyond first-year seminars, and that in doing so, it requires us to see this as a unique pedagogical context that differs from teaching students in their sophomore to senior years of college. The authors present a framework for faculty development in First-Year Pedagogies, incorporating CATL’s Teaching for Equity and Inclusion work, and faculty, staff, and student data at 乱伦视频. The framework asks educators to think intentionally about who they teach, what they teach, and how they teach, all within a commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity.

The article outlines how other institutions can put this framework into practice, by sharing how over the last two years, 乱伦视频 has developed specific faculty development opportunities to bring together faculty and staff from across first-year experiences (e.g., residential learning communities, gateway major courses, advising seminars). The goal of this work has been to build shared values, language, and classroom strategies focused on preparing students to be engaged, autonomous, and self-directed learners during their college degree and supporting students through the numerous transitions they experience during their first-year at college.

This work reflects why 乱伦视频 has earned national recognition for the first-year undergraduate experience and emphasizes the importance of uplifting and supporting staff and faculty in order to continue to best support our first-year students.

The workshop, titled Launching and Sustaining a Common Reading Program that Works, was facilitated by members of the Penguin Random House Common Reads advisory board, all of whom lead Common Reading programs at colleges and universities across the United States.

Workshop topics included the evolving nature of Common Reading programs,聽 making a case for launching or sustaining a program,聽program models and logistics, title selection, program assessment, and time for feedback and mentoring of attendees.

Patch joined the Penguin Random House Common Reads Advisory Board in 2025. The board meets regularly to identify titles and topics for Common Reading programs that choose Penguin Random House titles.

All new students are provided a free digital copy of the book before coming to 乱伦视频 and are invited to attend the author鈥檚 keynote address, but for Campoverdi’s event, part of the 乱伦视频 Speaker Series, she wanted to do something different.

鈥淚 purposely am not behind a podium,鈥� said Campoverdi. 鈥淚鈥檓 not an expert on being first gen, you all are experts as much as I am an expert on being a first and only. You鈥檙e an expert on whatever thresholds you鈥檙e crossing. So, I鈥檓 not here to lecture anyone on this experience, I鈥檓 here to have a conversation with you all.鈥�

And a conversation was had for more than an hour as several students asked questions of Campoverdi about her experiences as a first-generation college student, her work as an aide in the Obama administration and the process of writing her book.

Between the bullet points

The memoir details Campoverdi’s life as a 鈥渃hild of welfare,鈥� born to an immigrant single mother in Los Angeles, who went on to be White House aide, Harvard graduate and a candidate for U.S. Congress. In 2024, Campoverdi also founded the First Gen Fund, a non-profit that provides unrestricted hardship grants to first-generation students.

鈥淲hen I would be invited to schools and someone would read my bio, and it would be all the bullet points and it sounded so shiny and glossy and linear, and it made so much sense what I did, and then I did that, I knew that wasn’t the full story,” she said. “I knew that the spaces between those bullet points were actually the real story, and that looked very different.鈥�

Omar Illesca Reyes 鈥�27, a Labcorp-Alamance Scholar in the Odyssey Program and 乱伦视频 Academy mentor, sat on stage with Campoverdi, alongside Selma Maric 鈥�27, who introduced Campoverdi; Kenneth Brown, assistant director of First-Generation Student Support Services; and Paula Patch, senior lecturer in English and associate director for in the 乱伦视频 Core Curriculum. Illesca Reyes asked Campoverdi about feelings of 鈥渋mposter syndrome鈥� as a first-generation student and in her later roles.

鈥淎ll of us at some point are going to find ourselves in a space where people might not relate to where we come from and what we鈥檝e experienced,鈥� said Campoverdi. 鈥淎nd you noticing that and not feeling good about that, doesn鈥檛 all go into a bucket of feeling like an imposter. She added, 鈥淟et yourself clock it and not make that mean something bad about you, because it doesn鈥檛.鈥�

Illesca Reyes reflected that getting to speak with Campoverdi was personal and emotional.

鈥淭he struggles are real for a first-generation student, and it鈥檚 nice that a light is being shone on them,鈥� said Illesca Reyes, who is studying engineering. 鈥淚 felt like I was being heard throughout the book, and I felt myself in her shoes multiple times.鈥�

‘Be it all unapologetically’

In her memoir, Campoverdi reflects on the 鈥渃ontradictory extremes鈥� of her life, from being a gang member鈥檚 girlfriend to working in the White House, arguing that all of those extremes can exist together.

鈥淪ome of us are complicated,鈥� Campoverdi said in response to a student question about finding belonging in multiple spaces. 鈥淥wn all of these things together at the same time. I sit on stages all the time, and people ask me, 鈥榃hat would you say to 16-year-old Alejandra who was dating that guy? What would you tell her now from where you are?鈥� And I said 鈥楽he鈥檚 right here. I鈥檓 the same me.鈥� So stop trying to find the answer. There鈥檚 no answer. Just be it all unapologetically.鈥�

Her memoir also works to 鈥渟hatter the one-dimensional glossy narrative鈥� about what it takes to achieve the American Dream. She notes it was harder to get from her childhood to college than from college to the White House.

鈥淚鈥檝e experienced the American dream,鈥� she said, as a student asked her response to the concept. 鈥淚 believe education is the driver of the American dream for many of us. It isn鈥檛 the only way, but it is for most of us.鈥�

Campoverdi spent the day at 乱伦视频, including hosting a storytelling workshop for students and faculty, in collaboration with the Center for Access and Success. Her openness for conversation resonated with students like Daniella Alonzo Lopez 鈥�28, a scholar in the Odyssey Program, who received the Leon and Lorraine Watson scholarship.

鈥淪ometimes along the journey, you think you’re navigating all of this by yourself, but there’s truly a community of people,鈥� said Alonzo Lopez 鈥�28, a marketing and business analytics double major. 鈥淚鈥檓 always looking for mentors and people to encourage me and inspire me to continue. So I鈥檓 glad to be here and hear her. Getting to meet her was almost like an older sister.鈥�

Redefine success

As Campoverdi heard from students focusing on her success as a first-generation student, she encouraged them to also think about how success can be more than just what鈥檚 on paper.

鈥淵ou can be the first generation to go to college or the first generation to have a professional job or break a cycle, the first generation to move across the country or the first generation to X,Y, Z,鈥� said Campoverdi. 鈥淏ut being the first generation to break the cycle of living in survival mode is just as important. Being the first generation to not live in fight or flight is just as important. Being the first generation to allow yourself balance and rest, that’s important, too.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e experienced the American dream. I believe education is the driver of the American dream for many of us. It isn鈥檛 the only way, but it is for most of us.”

Alejandra Campoverdi, award-winning author of “First Gen”

She ended the event by reminding students about how far they鈥檝e come in their lives and encouraged them to continue being vulnerable as it can serve as a 鈥渃onnective tissue.鈥�

鈥淲hen I look out in this room, I see a lot of people who have a lot in common, and I think that鈥檚 more important than ever. So keep telling your stories, keep turning towards that vulnerability. It doesn鈥檛 make you weak, it makes you strong and it will ultimately make you a better professional,” Campoverdi said.

Hollingsworth is spending the summer working at the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL), and continuing the project through an independent study. During the spring 2025 semester, Hollingsworth began a 4999 research credit with Jill McSweeney, assistant director of the CATL and assistant professor of wellness, on a project centered around creating a board game that assists first-year students with their transition into university.

First-year undergraduate students experience social (e.g. making friends), academic (e.g. harder subject material), and/or emotional (e.g. loneliness) challenges transitioning to university, which can impact student mental health and lead to a reduction in student success and retention. The project uses game-based learning, which offers a dynamic, interactive and self-directed way to engage first-year students while equipping them with essential skills for navigating social, academic and emotional transitional challenges.

This project was developed in collaboration with faculty members at the , a large public research university.

“Their perspective of the first-year experience is slightly different from 乱伦视频鈥檚, which allows us to test our research in a broader environment,” said Hollingsworth. “For example, the University of Iceland is not a residential university and therefore scenarios regarding living on campus or having a roommate are not applicable. Similarly, a lot of students are not entering their first year right from high school, many having full-time jobs, families, or previous degrees when they come in.”

The game is inspired by games such as “The Game of Life,” where students move around a board representing their first year at university, encountering scenarios depicting common dilemmas or events that they might encounter at real life university.

For example, players may experience an event around completing a roommate agreement, just like students do at 乱伦视频; or have to choose between studying or going to a campus event with friends the night before a midterm. By completing dilemmas and events, students are presented with decisions that they will have to make throughout their first year, often around things that they may not have thought about.

These decisions have consequences, sometimes it might be negative and they might increase their stress (a natural response they will have to learn to balance through their first year, and in our game something that students will want to manage through engaging with pathways like taking a yoga class with 乱伦视频’s Campus Recreation and Health Promotion), and/or develop a skill (either academic, social, or emotional) allowing them to decide how they might like to personally develop over their first year.

“The game encourages students to reflect on the importance of their first year being much more than just their academic experience,” said Hollingsworth. “Engaging in activities and being accountable for their decisions allows them to grow and complete the goals that they have chosen for themselves, and of course, completing goals allows them to get victory points to win the game. Through the exposure to issues that students might face by playing this game, we hope that they will become more prepared for their transition into university.”

This summer, Hollingswoth has continued the project, spending time refining mechanics and creating a physical version for playtesting. Playtesting is important in game design because it allows the designer to receive important feedback to improve the game. Hollingsworth and her collaborators did an initial playtest with three 乱伦视频 faculty and staff teaching 乱伦视频 1010 in the fall, and from their feedback, they continued to adjust and refine the game in order to have a full prototype to test with our international collaborators from Iceland.

With the help of funding from the Center for Research on Global Engagement (CRGE), Hollingsworth was also able to travel to Iceland to work with her collaborators from the University of Iceland, where they did three rounds of playtesting. First, they playtested with two students, and others from the university then with two groups of four, combining faculty and staff from the university.

“The trip to Iceland was a wonderful experience to improve our research and model international research collaboration, but also to explore Iceland,” said Hollingsworth.

Hollingsworth will continue to edit the game based on feedback and will collect data from having 乱伦视频 1010 classes play this game next fall. Similarly, collaborators in Iceland intend to collect data during one of their introductory university courses in the fall.

The Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience provides an ongoing forum where higher education professionals can share experiences, concerns and accomplishments related to supporting student learning, development, and success in the first college year.

Staff and faculty from 乱伦视频 shared best practices from 乱伦视频’s U.S. News #1 ranked First-Year Experience program and #1 ranked Learning Communities with colleagues from other colleges and universities. Attendees from 乱伦视频 included:

• Jen Platania, associate provost for Academic Affairs and associate professor of economics
• Eleanor Finger, assistant vice president for Student Life, dean of Campus Life and assistant professor
• Jennifer Stephens, director of academic-residential partnerships and assistant professor of education
• Kirsten Carrier, assistant dean of Campus Life and director of Residence Life
• Jill McSweeney, assistant director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and assistant professor of wellness
• Paula Patch, senior lecturer in English and associate director of First-Year Initiatives in the 乱伦视频 Core Curriculum
• Brandy Propst, director of 乱伦视频 1010 and assistant director of academic advising

Additionally, Jennifer Stephens and Kirsten Carrier presented their work at the conference in a session titled 鈥淟iving & Learning at 乱伦视频: A Framework for First-Year Residential Learning.” This presentation discussed the creation of a new residential learning outcomes framework that gave faculty and staff working on the initiative common goals for programming and assessable learning outcomes. The framework was created as a result of the Residential Campus Strategic plan, which aims to achieve portions of Boldly 乱伦视频, the university’s current strategic plan. Attendees at the session gained practical strategies on how they might create this type of framework for their residential learning initiatives and were able to hear how assessment results have informed updates and changes to the framework for the future.

Why did you want to go on the AIL trip?

I鈥檝e participated in this trip the past couple of years and it has been a great way to connect with incoming first-year students as they get ready for their college transition. When you鈥檙e out on the trail with no cell phone service the students have no choice but to actively engage with each other. There end up being wonderful conversations about what students are excited about, what makes them nervous and how they plan to approach their college experience. As an educator, there is nothing more fulfilling than being able to walk with students on that journey.

Are you a big camper?

I love spending time outdoors. I was involved in scouting during my youth and in college and grad school spent five summers as a summer camp counselor and program director. Hiking is a regular part of our vacations as a family and I enjoy any chance I can get to be out in nature.

What were you hoping to get out of the trip?

For me, it is nice to unplug for the week and be singularly focused on the aspect of my job that I love best 鈥� supporting students in their growth and development. Titles and roles don鈥檛 matter when you鈥檙e out on the trail and the ability to spend concentrated time with a group of students is a gift. It鈥檚 also fulfilling to watch the upper-class students who serve as trip facilitators developing their leadership skills and supporting their peers.

How do you think this trip prepared students for their first year at 乱伦视频?

The transition to college is a big adjustment. These summer first-year experiences can be a great way for students to connect with some of their new classmates and jump-start making new friends and finding their place. For some students, they were enjoying a backpacking experience they love, but in other cases, students were doing something they鈥檇 never tried before and challenging themselves in the process.

Did you see any changes in the students during the week?

Whenever you can take students from this generation to an environment where their cell phones don鈥檛 work and they are off social media for a week, great things happen. It was fun to watch them engage with each other and to see friendships forming in front of your eyes. It鈥檚 also wonderful to see students scaling heights, backpacking for the first time, or doing something they didn鈥檛 think they were capable of 鈥� it sets the stage for their college experience.

What were your rose, bud and thorn of the trip?

This is a great question 鈥� each evening there is a similar reflection on the activities of the day.聽 The highlight of the trip was definitely the time on the trail, talking with students and enjoying the beauty of the Pisgah National Forest. The thorns of a trip like this are always the aches and pains that remind you that you aren鈥檛 in your twenties anymore. The buds are the relationships that these students just started 鈥� I cannot wait to see what is in store for them as they arrive on campus this fall.

Final thoughts?

For any student who missed this opportunity this summer, I hope they will check out the opportunities through 乱伦视频 Outdoors when they get to campus.

The FSE programs give incoming 乱伦视频 students a preview of the university during the summer before their first semester. The programs are part of the university鈥檚 commitment to experiential learning and help students develop self-awareness, enhance relationships and define community in preparation for their 乱伦视频 experience.

Engage, which ran from July 9-12, is focused on community service, with students spending the week living in a residence hall on campus, exploring Alamance County and volunteering in the local community. During the nearly weeklong program, the students volunteered with the Boys & Girls Club of Alamance County and in Whitsett, North Carolina.

The perfect opportunity

Jordyn Lewis 鈥�28, from Harrisburg, North Carolina, is coming to 乱伦视频 with her twin sister and while her sister chose to do an Adventures in Leadership program this summer, Lewis wanted a focus on community service, something she did in high school.

鈥淐ommunity service has always been an interest of mine, trying to give back and help people out,鈥� said Lewis, who will be part of the accelerated 3+1 business dual-degree program in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. 鈥淪o, when I saw that I could do the Engage program over the summer, even before I got to 乱伦视频, and make connections with people who also wanted to do service, I thought 鈥榯his is perfect.鈥欌��

The Kernodle Center for Civic Life hosts the FSE programs and connect students with community based and experiential learning opportunities while at 乱伦视频.

鈥淭he Engage program is a great opportunity to not only showcase all the wonderful resources that incoming students have access to but also showcase the opportunities to get engaged in a community that they will be in for the next four years,鈥� said Abigail Wiatrek, assistant director of the Kernodle Center.

Being different together

Like Lewis, community service is also important to Joseph Enclerio 鈥�28, from Wayne, Pennsylvania, and he wanted to get a head start on his Experiential Learning Requirement (ELR). All 乱伦视频 students are required to complete the ELR before graduation, which must include at least two experiential learning opportunities through any of the five 乱伦视频 Experiences: global engagement, service learning, leadership, internships and undergraduate research.

鈥淚 thought 鈥業 love service, it鈥檚 a graduation requirement, it works out perfectly,鈥欌�� said Enclerio, who plans to study accounting through the accelerated business 3+1 dual degree program.

鈥淕etting the students comfortable on campus and out in the community and watching them thrive and ask 鈥榟ow can I come back to volunteer during the year?鈥� is confirmation that 乱伦视频 is going to be the right place for them,鈥� said Wiatrek.

While at Peacehaven, the students helped around the farm, including cutting back branches along trails while also continuing to bond with one another. The community farm serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great for the students to come and be a part of a community where there are a variety of abilities and to just work with people that might be a little bit different,鈥� said Elizabeth Strickland, community engagement coordinator for Peacehaven. 鈥淥ur slogan is 鈥榣et鈥檚 be different together鈥� and I love that and have really embraced that mindset.鈥�

A broader view

This year鈥檚 cohort was also able to do a ropes course activity, see and experience different areas of campus and tour downtown Burlington.

One of those areas of campus was the The Maker Hub in downtown 乱伦视频 where the students participated in the Marshmallow Challenge 鈥� a design and team-building exercise that tasks students to build the tallest structure out of spaghetti noodles with a marshmallow on top.

Sofia Barnes 鈥�28, Delia Moulton 鈥�28 and Henry Pittman 鈥�28 formed a group to solve the challenge together. Barnes first came to campus for Scholarship Weekend and she knew 乱伦视频 was the right fit. She also knew she wanted to familiarize herself with campus before the fall so the Engage program gave her what she wanted and the opportunity to see more than what campus has to offer.

鈥淚 got to stay in a dorm, which is nice, and I liked the idea of being able to get to know campus before everyone got here and it鈥檚 good getting to know other people,鈥� said Barnes, who is from Long Island, New York and plans to study chemistry. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good inside look, on a miniature scale, of what the community is going to be like, so I鈥檓 excited.鈥�

Finding community

乱伦视频 was the first university Moulton toured on her college search 鈥� 24 schools later, she knew 乱伦视频 was going to stay number one. Even though she is from nearby Greensboro, Moulton says the Engage program was still a beneficial opportunity for her summer.

鈥淚 wanted to get to know the campus and the people before actually being thrown into classes,鈥� said Moulton, who is majoring in political science.

For the students in the Engage program, it鈥檚 all about not just helping their new community, but finding a community as well.

鈥淲hen I toured 乱伦视频, you could tell there was a very strong sense of community, and diversity and inclusion was important and that there was a place for everybody here,鈥� said Lewis. 鈥淵ou feel like you belong.鈥�

The purpose of 乱伦视频 1010 is 鈥渢o build a sense of community, foster academic and personal success, develop a meaningful relationship with an academic advisor, and create an academic plan that will guide students during their time at 乱伦视频.鈥�

Early in the semester, students connected over their love of dogs and so they decided to focus their gratitude project on providing for the dogs awaiting adoption at the .

Peer advisor Ava Aanestad premixed the dough and students used class time to roll, cut and bake close to 100 treats. Students had fun engaging with one another over the project, snacks and music. It was a warm way to create a sense of community and close out the semester.

After the class, Post and Aenestad took the treats to the shelter and shared them with the dogs.

Missing your dog or want to provide some fun for an animal that doesn鈥檛 yet have a home? Consider volunteering for the shelter鈥檚 .

Her lecture on Thursday is titled 鈥淐urious Questions, Sparking Conversation.鈥� The next day, Guzm谩n will lead workshops with faculty, staff and students in LaRose Student Commons.

Guzm谩n is senior fellow for public practice at Braver Angels, the nation’s largest cross-partisan grassroots organization working to depolarize America; founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity, an organization working to build a more curious world; co-founder of the award-winning Seattle newsletter The Evergreen; and adviser for Starts With Us and the Generations Over Dinner project.

A Mexican immigrant, Latina and dual U.S./Mexico citizen, she lives in Seattle with her husband and two children and is a proud liberal daughter of conservative parents.

During a Zoom conversation with 乱伦视频 faculty and staff in August,聽Guzm谩n said her parents were her biggest inspiration for the book.

Coming from a very tight-knit, very politically divided family was instrumental in the writing of this book as she has first-hand experience in having passionate debates with people she loves and respects.

A Democrat who voted for Joe Biden in the last election,聽Guzm谩n had unfiltered, intense conversations with her parents who are both Donald Trump supporters. When she would talk to her friends, most of whom are liberal, about her parents鈥� right-wing leaning, it was met with judgment, which she would take personally.

鈥淭hat became a big part of my inspiration, taking that personally,鈥澛燝uzm谩n said. She became obsessed with studying the political divide and why our political strength is defined by how much we attack the other side.

鈥淚 dug up a lot of research and a bunch of it is quite chilling because it shows us that people on either side of the divide assume things about the other side that tend not to be true,鈥澛燝uzm谩n said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not seeing each other for who we really are and we鈥檙e not seeing the actual issues that divide us.鈥�

Tickets are available now for Guzm谩n’s lecture at . Admission is $15 or an 乱伦视频 ID.

Guzm谩n聽is the first guest of the 乱伦视频 Speaker Series this year. Visit the series website for more information.