Vinciguerra wants to change that. The Maxwell senior is working to convert a vacant lot in her old neighborhood into community green space that can be used for fitness, recreation, and community building. She spent her summer meeting with citizens to assess wants and needs, and working with community organizations to cut through red tape.

This project is part of the Action Plan required of her major in citizenship and civic engagement. (She’s also majoring in policy studies.) CCE is focused on community-based, experiential learning. The Action Plan is a project in which seniors research a community problem and develop a proposal to address it.

That she spent her summer on the project — rather than her usual summer gig, as a barista — is thanks to a grant from the Jon Ben Snow Foundation, supporting student projects in CCE. Vinciguerra was one of nine CCE students who benefitted from a Snow grant this summer.

“Part of what CCE is all about is getting students out into the community and bringing their studies to life,” says Amy Schmidt ’14 MPA, CCE program coordinator. “We try to give students as many opportunities as possible to go out in the community and do engagement, whether that’s here, at home, or abroad.”

Previously, the program offered stipends to students from its budget. “With the help of the Jon Ben Snow Foundation, we were able to support more students and give them bigger stipends,” says Schmidt.

Osman’s Action Plan, which builds on that of previous student Adriana Curto ’16 BA (IR/CCE), aims to establish an arts therapy program for refugee youth in the Syracuse community. “The benefits of art therapy could be one of the most effective in healing trauma and facilitating a healthier reintegration process,” says Osman.

Mia Guy, who graduates this December with majors in CCE, African American studies, and women’s and gender studies, used her grant to help offset the costs of a study abroad program focused on the African diaspora in Paris. Guy is creating a database of resources related to human trafficking. In Paris, she interviewed feminist activists and studied French care models.

“I was attracted to CCE because of the opportunity to give something back to the community,” she says. “I’m not just going to leave with my education. I’m going to contribute something that hopefully will make a difference in people’s lives.”

According to program chair Anne Mosher, CCE students are not content to simply come up with a plan. “They want to do it now,” she says.

Vinciguerra, for example, hatched her project idea as a sophomore, chose her community placement with a business development nonprofit, researched parcel redevelopment and community-based planning in her MAX Course last year, and is now pursuing funding to get the vacant lot converted. “Her work this summer,” Mosher says, “gave her a leg-up on writing grants to make her vision a reality.”