Awards & Scholarships

The ACE Awards were created to recognize and honor outstanding efforts and achievements made toward community-based research, community-based learning, and community partner building. The primary mission of these awards is to make service learning and civic engagement the expectation at UNC and to denote the need for more efficient, dynamic, and high-quality UNC-Community partnerships.

Categories awarded include, but are not limited to: Community Engaged Undergraduate, Community Engaged Graduate, Academic Community Engagement, Leadership in Community Engagement, Collective Impact, and more.

Please refer to the guiding principles outlined below to see if you or a fellow student qualify.

Students can self-nominate or be nominated by other students, faculty, or staff members. Application opens in Fall 2020.

To learn more about this $5,000 scholarship click here.

Guiding Principles

Graduate Students
- Outstanding & on-going leader for community engagement (local, regional, or global).
- Is a recognized leader with a solid reputation for excellence in civic engagement, service learning, community-based learning, or community-based research.
- Utilizes research outcomes for the purpose of educating a wide audience and giving back to the literature.
- Utilizes what they learn by working with the community as an opportunity to create sustainable practices that ensure active participation and cooperation between UNC and the community.
- Student’s area of expertise is visible and shared to those around them.
- Student’s community engagement relates back to their academic goals.
- Research tied to the student’s expertise is of benefit to the community.
- Enriches learning experiences through active involvement in the community
Undergraduate Students
- Outstanding & on-going leader for community engagement (local, regional, or global).
- Has made a positive impact on community.
- Utilizes what they learn by working with the community as an opportunity to create sustainable practices that ensure active participation and cooperation between UNC and the community.
- Student’s area of expertise is visible and shared to those around them.
- Enriches learning experiences through active involvement in the community.
- Student’s community engagement relates back to their academic goals.
- If applicable: research tied to the student’s expertise is of benefit to the community.

Past ACE Award Recipients

2019
- Community Engaged Undergraduate Finalist: Grace Davis
- Community Engagement - Leadership Award: Ashley Amaro Martinez
- Community Engagement - Academic Award: Malaika Michel-Fuller
- Community Engaged Graduate Scholar Award: Rachel Sprague
2018
- Community Engaged Undergraduate Award: Tim Hernández
- Community Engaged Graduate Scholar Award: Rebecca Autrey, Shyanne Heise, Anna Momchilov
2017
- Community Engaged Undergraduate Award: Megan Bissell
- Community Engaged Graduate Scholar Award: David Matheson, Savannah Cormier
2016
Awards for 2016 were awarded through the inaugural Mountain West Engagement Summit, a partnership with Campus Connect of the Mountain West.
- Engaged Student Award: Deitra Sandy, Red Rocks Community College
2015
- Community Engaged Undergraduate Award: Megan Stoneman
- Community Engaged Graduate Scholar Award: Megan Cain, Louise Benke
2014
- Community Engaged Undergraduate Award: Megan M. Cain

Awards & Scholarships

To learn more about this $5,000 scholarship click here.

Guiding Principles

Past ACE Award Recipients

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