Two Cottey Students Earn Prestigious Awards

Two Cottey College students have received national academic awards. Campus Compact named Chido Shamuyarira to the organization’s 2019-2020 cohort of Newman Civic Fellows. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation chose Natalie Sexton for the 2019 Coca-Cola Academic Team.

“I seek to help other young people realize their educational dreams,” said Shamuyarira, of Zimbabwe. “After volunteering with the Chiedza Child Care Center in Mbare, Zimbabwe, I became interested in the advancement of education in areas of high poverty. This prompted an alliance with three other women to create a nonprofit organization called Vision 21 Zimbabwe. This organization tackles poverty by empowering vulnerable youth through education, information, resources and referrals.”

Shamuyarira is a sophomore at Cottey College.

“Ms. Shamuyarira is active in community service through the interfaith and diversity program on campus,” said Dr. Jann Weitzel, president of Cottey College. “She developed an interfaith clothing closet to help low-income students and/or students from warmer climates with winter clothing and accessories. Additionally, she provides weekly cultural programs to children in a rural, behavioral health hospital.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship, named for Campus Compact co-founder Frank Newman, is a one -year experience emphasizing personal, professional, and civic growth for students who have demonstrated a capacity for leadership and an investment in solving public problems. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to apply for exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

The Newman Civic Fellowship is supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation. Campus Compact is a national coalition of 1000+ colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education.

Sexton, from Ozark, Missouri, is also a Cottey sophomore. She is active in Phi Theta Kappa, an international honor society partnering with the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation to recognize outstanding students. Sexton received the $1,250 scholarship at the Phi theta Kappa regional conference earlier this month. The Coca-Cola Academic Team will be recognized internationally during Phi Theta Kappa’s annual convention next month in Orlando, Florida.