December 22, 2025

5 community connections we loved in 2025

Across Seattle and throughout Washington state, the Community Engagement & Leadership Education (CELE) Center is instrumental in the University of Washington’s community engagement — connecting the UW with neighborhoods, schools and community organizations to address critical social issues. Through authentic, reciprocal partnerships, the CELE Center provides students with opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to thriving communities.

The CELE Center’s programs are centered around four focus areas: community-engaged learning, leadership education, pre-K–12 student success and place-based initiatives; examples of programs within the CELE Center include the Dream Project and Riverways Education Partnerships. Since the University received the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification in 2020, the CELE Center has continued to deepen learning, expand opportunity and advance a more just region.

CELE Center programs invest in student leadership and long-term partnerships that strengthen both the University and communities. Below are five stories from this year that CELE Center staff wanted to highlight that show what this work looks like in practice. For more detail and data, be sure to check out the Center’s 2024-25 annual report.

1. Othello-UW Commons and Creators Corner: A hub for community and creativity

At Othello-UW Commons, the CELE Center is growing a student-led, community-fueled space where campus and neighborhood meet. This year, Othello neighborhood resident and student assistant Mia Doan helped organize Creators Corner, a student-led pop-up market that centers and uplifts queer artists and small-business owners of color — giving them a platform to share and sell their work in the Commons, from prints and jewelry to live art at neighborhood events.

“I’ve been going to art markets with my friends ever since high school — it’s our favorite hangout activity, said Doan, now a UW graduate student. “But we’d always have to catch the train up north to go to those markets. The Creators Corner is one way to bring that joyful celebration of creativity to the south end [of Seattle].”

From Creators Corner to the South Seattle Welcome event and other neighborhood gatherings, Othello-UW Commons connects students, residents and businesses across the south end of Seattle. The Commons team met face painter Caroline Tran and photographer Von’Rico O’Neal of Hey Suav Photography at the Othello International Festival, then invited them to the South Seattle Welcome — an event for new UW students from Southeast Seattle that brings together families and neighbors. There, both creators gained exposure and built connections with students, families, community partners and UW staff.

Through its physical space, events and relationships, Othello-UW Commons supports neighborhood businesses while creating a welcoming place for experimentation, collaboration and growth.

2. CELE K-12 tutors in Seattle Public Schools: Amplifying learning for thousands of students

Through the CELE Center’s K–12 programs, more than 250 UW students served as tutors in Seattle Public Schools this year, partnering with teachers in classrooms across the district. With roughly 30 students in each classroom, that’s an estimated 7,500 K–12 students receiving more individualized support in reading, math and other core subjects.

This long-standing partnership with Seattle Public Schools, recognized this year with a UAA Distinguished Partner Award honoring Ania Beszterda, volunteer services program administrator at SPS, shows what is possible when we invest in sustained relationships. CELE Center tutors don’t just help students grasp content; they build trust, offer encouragement and create more room for teachers to focus on the diverse needs in their classrooms.

For UW students, this work is a powerful form of community-based learning: They gain firsthand insight into educational equity, practice collaborative problem-solving with teachers and contribute to stronger public schools across our region.

3. Riverways Education Partnerships and CASE: Learning alongside community

Through Riverways Education Partnerships, UW students travel to rural and tribal communities to learn with and from local educators, families and youth. This year’s visits through the three Culture And Science Exchange (CASE) programs invited students to spend time on Yakama, Quileute and Makah lands, listen to community leaders, support youth programs and reflect on what responsible partnership really looks like.

The impact is two-way: Youth meet and learn from college students who genuinely care, while UW students gain a deeper understanding of reciprocity and educational justice. These relationships, built over time, help students recognize their role in supporting, rather than directing, community-driven work.

“These student–community relationships are years in the making. We have UW students who have worked with their partner communities for two, three, even four years,” says Richard Parra, assistant director of Rural and Tribal Partnerships. “Riverways and CASE remind our students that meaningful change comes from showing up consistently, actively listening and supporting what communities are already working toward.”

 

4. Leadership education: From the classroom to community impact

At the CELE Center, leadership is not a title, it is a practice rooted in community and civic responsibility. This year, a combined 232 students enrolled in CELE Center leadership courses and the leadership minor, exploring what it means to lead with equity, humility and collaboration in a complex democracy.

At the Spring CELEbration event in May, students in the Husky Leadership Certificate program presented their capstone projects, showing how they applied their learning in community organizations, student groups, public institutions and workplaces. Together, they form an interdisciplinary network of student leaders who carry their practice into every space they inhabit — strengthening civic life across our region.

Through reflection, relationship-building and community-based experiences, CELE Center’s leadership education deepens student learning, broadens access to leadership development and prepares students to engage in the ongoing work of building a more just, democratic society.

“When students are given the space to reflect on their leadership in real community contexts, learning becomes something they carry with them — not just a course requirement, but a responsibility,” said Fran Lo, executive director of the CELE Center. “We see leadership education as preparation for participation in a living democracy, shaped through relationships, humility and sustained engagement. These experiences help students understand not only how to lead, but why their leadership matters beyond the University.”

5. Dream Project: From near-peer mentoring to educational access leadership

For nearly two decades, the Dream Project has shown what is possible when UW students work alongside high schoolers to expand college access and advance educational equity across our region. What begins as near-peer mentoring often grows into a long-term commitment to supporting students and schools.

Jacob Shapiro is one example. A former Dream Project mentor and student intern, Shapiro continued this work after graduation as an AmeriCorps member supporting college and career readiness tutors in Seattle Public Schools. Today, he works with Seattle Promise, where he recently led a financial aid workshop for Dream Project college and career readiness assistants, bringing his experience full circle.

“My foundational professional experiences at Dream Project laid out the groundwork for my career,” said Jacob Shapiro. “Now, as an outreach specialist for Seattle Promise, I get to turn conversations into possibilities for students just beginning to imagine their futures. I appreciate the opportunities that Dream Project — and CELE as a whole — have offered me.”

Shapiro’s story is one of many. Dream Project alumni can be found in classrooms, nonprofits, youth-serving organizations and public institutions, carrying forward the skills, relationships and justice-centered values they developed at CELE. Together, they form a growing network of educational access leaders strengthening pathways for students across Washington.

Looking ahead

Across Seattle and throughout Washington state, the impact of the CELE Center is powered by partnership — including generous donors who believe in students as catalysts for change and in education as a tool to strengthen democracy.

As we look to the year ahead, additional gifts can open doors for more students and expand community-rooted learning and leadership. Alumni, family and friends are leaning in to strengthen the ripple effects of this work across schools, neighborhoods and regions through their philanthropy.