Civic Action Team

The McCall Center’s Civic Action Team includes all students and staff involved with the center, including Civic Action Specialists, McCall Fellows, and club leaders. Civic Action Team Specialists (CATS) are the student face and workforce for all MCCE programs.

Civic Action Team Accomplishments

The Civic Action Team has repeatedly demonstrated that they can rise to leadership challenges and are willing to grow as young professionals. Among them, their accomplishments have included: 

  • Leading GIVE projects
  • Coordinating Give & Go, Pacific Votes, and the Community Collaboration Celebration
  • Attending conferences such as the Race Amity Conference (Boston, MA), Catalyst Conference (Seattle, WA), Continuums of Service Conference (Long Beach, CA), Civic Leadership & Democratic Engagement Conference (Anaheim, CA), and National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (Portland, OR)
  • Attending the Pacific University Social Justice Retreat 
  • Editing and writing articles for the MCCE student newsletter, The Civic Scoop
  • Volunteering with the Community Alternative Learning Center, American Diabetes Association, Make a Wish Foundation, and elementary school lunch buddy program (for example)
  • Writing grants to fund MCCE programs and CAT professional development
  • Providing technical assistance for student civic engagement projects
  • Traveling to Hawaii to assist with development of a spring break immersion course 
  • Attending weekly MCCE staff meetings and retreats
  • Conducting outreach and awareness raising related to CE courses, MCCE activities, and civic engagement opportunities related to other issues and events. 

Join Our Team as a Civic Action Specialist

Civic Action Team Specialists (CATS) are paid student staff in the MCCE, hired with both federal work study and non-work study student employment funds. The primary purpose of the CATS program in the McCall Center for Civic Engagement is to give students the opportunity to serve the Pacific community and beyond in a way that connects academics and personal interests with civic engagement. CATS combine their passions, skills, and personal responsibilities by working together on civic engagement projects both on campus and throughout the community.

Civic Action Team Specialists focus on professional and personal development, preparing themselves for lives as active citizens both in their professions and in their communities. Students in this program will demonstrate and continue to develop the strong characteristics that work together to create exemplary citizens, such as:

  • live with integrity and act with intention
  • actively integrate knowledge, skill, identity, and action
  • cultivate harmony and understanding in a diverse world
  • seek justice for themselves and others
  • promote sustainable practices
  • lead through example

Some aspects of the CATS program are based on the Iowa GROW® program at the University of Iowa. Through regular meetings with their supervisor, students can connect their student employment experiences to their academics and career goals.

Program Highlights

  • Belonging to a positive team, cultivated through weekly staff meetings, committee meetings, periodic individual supervisor meetings, and bi-annual team retreats
  • Opportunities to practice leadership skills, public speaking, marketing/outreach, research, and organization
  • Working with student clubs, other centers, teams, residence halls, and other groups
  • Ongoing training and support to work with a diverse group of peers with different social backgrounds and political perspectives
  • Networking and direction connections with faculty and community partners
  • Professional development through support attending conferences and workshops
  • A sense of community and civic self-efficacy that comes with collective action toward the common good.

Required Qualifications 

  • Interest in civic engagement (e.g. service, advocacy, raising awareness, political involvement in elections/campaigns, activism, community-based research),
  • Demonstrated commitment to CE through past volunteering, coursework, student government, or other activities
  • Good oral and written communication skills, with the ability to listen well
  • Ability to work as a team member and take direction from others
  • Interest in working with diverse student groups and community partners
  • Willingness to engage in civil discussion around controversial issues in our democracy, support a nonpartisan approach to promoting civic engagement, and actively participate in personal and team efforts to make our own communities more sustainable, equitable, and just
  • Familiarity with MS Office software.

Hiring for Civic Action Team Specialists typically takes place at the beginning of each semester, with available positions dependent on funding. If you are interested in getting involved with the MCCE Civic Action Team, please email MCCE director Stephanie Stokamer or look at our positions for work study and non-work-study on Paycom.