University of San Francisco | Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good

Engaging with Humility

Kiah Combs is our Graduate Assistant at the McCarthy Center who is achieving a master of Arts degree in Organization and Leadership at USF this semester. Working with coordinating undergraduate participation in Engage San Francisco‘s literacy tutoring program in The Fillmore Western Addition and in Financial Literacy, we loved every single moment of working with her…

Reflections from the Border and Ajo, Arizona

In our last blog post, we heard from Madalyn Bowden ’25, Amy Zhang Jiang ’25, and Abigail Pena ’25 took part in the USF Architecture capstone studio, Community Design Outreach that designed installed water barrels in the Sonoran desert. Hear the reflections from their stay in Ajo, Arizona alongside Humane Borders, a non-profit organization whose…

Power in Community, Power to Community

Olivia Brown ’25, a Critical Diversity Studies and Public Relations student, has also been an Engage Literacy Tutor for three years. She works with today’s youth in our city’s Booker T. Washington Youth Community Service Center and has built strong relationships over time. Read how her experience has helped the next generation embrace who they…

The Gift of Water Through Community Design

Madalyn Bowden ’25, Amy Zhang Jiang ’25, and Abigail Pena ’25 took part in the USF Architecture capstone studio Community Design Outreach during the Fall 2024 semester! This past January, eleven students and Professors Seth Watchel and Ross McCarthy embarked on an immersion trip to Ajo, Arizona to meet with non-profit organization, Humane Borders, volunteers…

Activism Through Financial Education

Carl Levy III ’25, Marketing major and Legal Studies minor, is one of our Financial Literacy Fellows assigned to teaching young people at the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco. When working with today’s youth, the next generation of educators can see the need to prepare students for financial success! Read Carl’s experience and…

Design for Good: USF’s Food Pantry

In Fall 2024, Lizzy Fallon ’25 and Erika Baumgartner ’25, students in the Community Engaged Design class helped work on a large-scale campaign to rebrand and enhance the USF Food Pantry experience. Here is their story. We had the privilege of working first hand on designing with and for the USF Food Pantry. Our class…

Learning Resilience from Community

Emily Choto ’25 is working toward both Environmental Science and Politics majors at USF! Being a McCarthy Fellow in San Francisco, she has been able to experience public service in the Mission District. Working inside The Food as Medicine Collaborative is a coalition of community clinics, food nonprofits and businesses, and health care systems. Emily…

The Ripple Effect of Mentoring

Nyamal Chuol ’27 is a Public Health major with an Environmental Science minor working as a USF Rising Youth Mentor. Providing guidance for the next generation is a way of breaking down the same barriers that she had experienced just a few years earlier. With empathy, Nyamal puts herself in the mentees’ shoes and supports…