Rabea Ali '20 Named Newman Civic Fellow

Rabea Ali ’20 has been named a Newman Civic Fellow, one of 262 students in the nation to receive the award from Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education.

Ali is a management and marketing double major, with a minor in religious studies. She is president of Manhattan College’s Muslim Student Association and collaborates with other groups on campus in hosting interfaith events, including the Multicultural Center, Campus Ministry and Social Action and the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center.

Through her collaborations in interfaith work, Ali aims to educate others on implicit bias, inclusion and the growing effects of Islamophobia, racism and antisemitism in the United States.

Ali has also collaborated with New York-based advocacy groups, like the Council on American-Islamic Relations New York, in order to educate students on their constitutional rights. In addition, she was a fellow of the Women in Faith Fellowship, which works toward finding a common ground, learning from others and helping communities come together.

The Newman Civic Fellowship is a one-year fellowship for community-committed college students from Campus Compact member institutions. The fellowship honors the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who was a tireless advocate for civic engagement in higher education.

Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities emphasizing personal, professional and civic growth. Each year, fellows are invited to 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 pathways to apply for exclusive scholarship and postgraduate opportunities.