social justice | Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good

On My First Year Of Grad School

Jessica Lindquist, M.A., Public Affairs ’18 Last July I left my cushy job as an executive assistant at a financial technology company in Mid-Market to try something scary and exciting: graduate school. I had been accepted into the Master of Public Affairs program at the University of San Francisco. At my core, I knew it…

USF in D.C. is Unlike Anything Else!

Gabbi McDaniel I left Washington, D.C. more than four months ago. Whenever anybody asks me about my experience, my first response continues to be, “it was the best experience I’ve had at USF.” Then I gush for five more minutes about the opportunities I had, the individuals I met, and the impact this program…

Traveling with the Esther Madriz Diversity Scholars to NYC

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX9Ei8AU0tw&w=560&h=315] Janelle Nunez (’19) is a participant of the Esther Madriz Diversity Scholars cohort that went to New York this January. Here she shares her reflections on this transformative trip. During the University of San Francisco’s winter intercession, the Esther Madriz Diversity Scholars (EMDS) got the incredible opportunity to spend a week in…

Alumnus Sees the Future of the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center

Jerry Trotter Program Director, Booker T. Washington Community Service Center Ayah Mouhktar, our Communications Assistant, interviewed Jerry Trotter at the construction site for the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center. Below is a reflection on her experience meeting Jerry, discussing the new facility and what it will mean for the families and children of San…

Meet our 2016-17 Advocates for Community Engagement (ACEs)

Advocates for Community Engagement are socially responsible, civically engaged student leaders who facilitate meaningful service-learning experiences for USF students, faculty, and their host organizations. Primarily, ACEs act as liaisons to ensure the needs and expectations of all stakeholders are accounted for and prioritized. Each ACE makes a one-year commitment to work onsite at Bay Area…

Who’s Leo?

There’s a name that graces our door and the suite of offices located in Masonic #103 and we mention this name dozens of times a day – it’s listed on every brochure, rack card and report that cross our desks. Our young students never had the chance to meet this person and even now rarely find faculty and staff that knew and worked with the Center’s namesake.

Handful Players + Engage San Francisco = a Community Partnership with Mutually Shared Goals

Earlier this month, Ryan Marchand, Artistic Director of Handful Players visited our offices and explained how he became involved with Handful Players –one of Engage San Francisco’s inaugural Community Engagement Grantees. Ryan describes the relationship between the youth theatre group and the University of San Francisco’s place base initiative with the Western Addition.

Learning to Become an Advocate for Community Engagement with Upward Bound

When I first heard about the Advocate for Community Engagement (ACE) program through the Leo T. McCarthy Center, I knew it would be an incredibly unique opportunity for me to explore my passions surrounding social justice. – Greta Karisny