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USF’s Amanda Pedro named Newman Civic Fellow

University of Saint Francis (USF) senior nursing major Amanda Pedro has been named a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact in recognition of her demonstrated investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities.

Campus Compact is the only national higher education association dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement. It promotes public and community service that develops students’ citizenship skills, helps campuses forge effective community partnerships, and provides resources and training for faculty seeking to integrate civic and community-based learning into the curriculum.

Newman Civic Fellows are nominated by college and university presidents to acknowledge their motivation and ability in public leadership. USF President Sister M. Elise Kriss, OSF, nominated Pedro on the basis of her pivotal role in raising funds for the construction of the first permanent residential home for the orphans at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Orphanage in Haiti.

In 2011, Pedro, a successful student-athlete, responded to an invitation to travel to Haiti with Formula for Life, a student philanthropic group at USF. Since 2009, this group has coordinated a campus 5K run/walk to raise money to provide nutritional support to Haitian children.

Upon returning to USF, Pedro became a Formula for Life leader, and her passion and compassion for the children of Haiti has motivated the community to respond generously. The April 2012 Formula for Life 5K run/walk was the most successful to date, with $11,000 raised.

Pedro returned to Haiti with the Formula for Life faculty adviser and another student team member to present Father Andre of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Orphanage the money raised through the event.  During the visit, she heard Father Andre recount an incident in which a baby girl was turned away because the living space could not accommodate her. After he explained his vision to expand the orphanage from a small rental to a permanent campus on 15 acres of farmland, Pedro told her Formula for Life adviser, “We are going to get Father on his new land. We are the ones who are supposed to do it.”

Within six months, the construction campaign led by Pedro and other Formula for Life members garnered over $75,000 in monetary contributions and in-kind construction donations for the orphanage building project. She remained committed to her mission upon her return to Indiana, despite the distance and the distractions in the life of a U.S. college student.

“Amanda is an excellent student, a talented athlete and true campus leader,” President Kriss said. “She communicated the orphans’ plight, reminded us of our blessings, and created the momentum for a campaign to build an earthquake- and hurricane-resistant home for those children. It will be interesting to see what her future holds and how she shapes her nursing career and advocacy for Haitian children into a life plan. Asked about her role in the orphanage project following graduation, she replied, ‘You know—I’m not done yet.’”

For more information about the orphanage building project or to make a donation, contact Dr. Amy Obringer at aobringer@sf.edu.

The University of Saint Francis, founded in 1890 as a comprehensive university in the Catholic Franciscan tradition, offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs through the School of Health Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership, School of Professional Studies and School of Creative Arts. The university’s College of Adult Learning designs focused curriculum for working adults by offering online and accelerated programs, through its Virtual, Fort Wayne and Crown Point campuses. More than 2,300 students from a broad geographic region attend USF for its academic excellence.