The University of Houston-Downtown’s Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning invites community members, faculty, staff and students to attend the annual Community Engagement Virtual Showcase. The event is 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25. Register online to attend.

The virtual showcase features an introduction, a keynote address, presentations and breakout sessions that celebrate the diversity of community-engaged, experiential learning at UHD. Participants will see and hear the stories from faculty, students and staff collaborating with community partners across Houston. These experiences span diverse curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular settings and are expansive in their positive social impact.

UHD Alumna, current University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) master’s student and community activist Selena Garcia will offer a unique perspective as the keynote speaker. As a student leader, Garcia believes that voices from students and other advocates of color are grossly underepresented in the policymaking space. Therefore, she actively addresses issues that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients confront when they strive for success in their personal, academic and professional lives.

While working on a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from University College, Garcia was actively involved in several impactful community engagement initiatives. These efforts were recognized when she received the Gulf-South Summit Outstanding Student Contributions to Service Learning in Higher Education-Undergraduate Award in 2019. She serves as the president of the Policy Insiders Advisory Committee, a GCSW Ambassador and as the 2020 Master of Social Work student representative in the National Association of Social Workers/Texas Chapter’s Political Action for Candidate Election Board of Trustees.