Engagement Opportunities
Find Engagement Opportunities
CEC staff and student leaders are happy to connect regarding any of the opportunities in the link below or to explore other opportunities in the Twin Cities that meet your interests.
Arts
Visual art, dance, music, writing, and myriad other forms of artistic expression have functioned as a way for people to create change and draw attention to issues that matter throughout history. Engaging the community through the arts is a way to connect with our Twin Cities neighbors and create connection, challenge important issues, and form long-lasting relationships throughout our communities.
College Access
Through the efforts of College Access student leaders, the Community Engagement Center hosts a series of elementary, middle and high school visits of future first-generation college students. Help to answer questions about what college life is like, how younger students can prepare, and how they can decide which path is best for them on an individual level. It’s also a way for local youth to become familiar with Macalester and hopefully see higher ed as a place where they belong.
Dialogue
The CEC hosts multiple spaces, some ongoing, others in response to local or world events, to engage in meaningful and respectful dialogue. While ongoing groups tend to involve going into the larger Twin Cities community, short-term opportunities, such as Turning Towards Each Other, generally focus on dialogue within the Mac community.
Environment & Sustainability
From activism to direct action to public policy work, students engage this theme in a variety of ways at Macalester. Students may join groups working with Friends of the Mississippi River, Great River Greening, MN350, Urban Roots, and many more.
Health & Wellness
Students at Macalester interact with health and wellness through many different pathways. Maybe you’re following a pre-med track and are interested in spending time in clinics and hospitals. Maybe you’re interested in public health and advocacy and want to be involved in health education or connecting people to the resources they need. Maybe you plan to study psychology or neuroscience, and want to work with children or adults with developmental disabilities. Connect to get a sense of the broad range of health-related work happening in the Twin Cities, and to help you start thinking about ways you might want to get involved.
Housing, Work & Food Justice
There are nearly 20,000 people experiencing homelessness every single night in Minnesota. Low-wage workers are fighting for fair, safe, and equitable conditions, yet 1 in 8 Minnesotans are affected by hunger. Housing, Work & Food Justice is about addressing the areas of housing justice, work justice, and food justice in a way that is fair, equitable, and accessible to diverse community members.
Immigrants & Refugees
The largest groups of immigrants in Minnesota are Hmong, Somali, Mexican, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Salvadoran, Liberian, Cambodian, Bosnian, Karen and other refugees from Myanmar, and Bhutanese. In total, Minnesota has received refugees from over 100 countries since 1979. There are ways to get involved with English language classes, legal work, teen programming, and supporting new arrivals to Minnesota.
Justice & Organizing
This theme encapsulates work on many different subjects, supporting election and voter engagement, advocacy, community organizing, and social justice topics like racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, police brutality, and restorative practices. With an upcoming presidential election, sweeping movements around the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and other critical issues hitting so close to Macalester, it is crucial that we as Macalester students engage in policy and justice issues.
Language Opportunities
Do you speak a language other than English? The focus of this area is to utilize those language skills in local contexts such as bilingual schools and interpreting for legal clinics. While there are the most opportunities in Spanish, there are also opportunities to use Mandarin, French, Vietnamese, and Russian. If you want to use language skills in a different language, let us know and we can explore opportunities together!
Public Policy & Government
This theme encapsulates work on many different subjects, supporting election and voter engagement, advocacy, community organizing, and social justice topics such as racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, police brutality, and restorative practices. With an upcoming presidential election, sweeping movements around the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and other critical issues hitting so close to Macalester, it is crucial that we as Macalester students engage in policy and justice issues.
Youth
If you’re interested in education, tutoring, or just working with kids in general, there are many opportunities for you to get involved. Some of the main avenues of engagement are: in the classroom at St. Paul Public Schools near campus, through tutoring programs, and through college access programs. Depending on what kind of work you are doing, you will be working with different age groups. For example, most Macalester students work in classrooms at the elementary and middle school levels.