Lucero Orozco Named Newman Civic Fellow

2018 Mar 28

Lucero Orozco of Reading, Pa., has been named a 2018 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact. A graduate of Reading High, Orozco is a junior Reading Collegiate Scholar at Alvernia, where she is studying healthcare science. She is the seventh Alvernia student to be named a Newman Civic Fellow since 2012.

Tutoring at Reading High through Alvernia's Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement for the last two years, Orozco has discovered a calling in helping students develop key academic skills and successfully graduate from high school. She also helps students navigate application and aid processes to pursue further education at colleges and universities around the country.

"Over time, I became more aware that individuals from Reading are not provided the same opportunities as others," said Orozco. "This motivated me to be a mentor and role model, to demonstrate that there is hope and that everyone can achieve their goals in life with determination. Knowing that I come from a similar background as the students that I mentor creates a stronger connection and builds trust to assist them with what they need. I believe that education is important to bridge the social and economic gaps to make a community better."

Nominated by university presidents, Newman Civic Fellowships recognize and support community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country.

"Especially impressive is Lucy's ability to serve as a role model for students with a skill and grace seldom encountered in a young woman of her age," said Alvernia President Thomas F. Flynn, Ph.D. "Ms. Orozco has emerged as an inspirational leader for her fellow college students who participate in the program, as well as a mentor to those high school students who themselves aspire to be college-bound graduates of Reading High School - just like her."

ALVERNIA is a thriving Franciscan university that empowers students through real-world learning to discover their passion for life, while providing the education to turn what they love into lifetimes of career success and personal fulfillment, helping them make the world a better place. Situated on a scenic 121-acre suburban campus in historic Berks County, Pa., the university of more than 3,000 students is conveniently located near Philadelphia (60 miles) and within an easy drive of New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.