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

Love to the Class of 2018

Crystal Vega, Urban Studies and Critical Diversity Studies ’18, was awarded this year’s Leo T. McCarthy Award. Below is her commencement speech. Dear Class of 2018, I love you. You, the first generation students who paved the road for so many to come. You, the nonbinary and trans students who are constantly pushing the university to…

Introducing the 2018 McCarthy Fellows

Congratulations to our newest cohort of McCarthy Fellows in Sacramento. This upcoming summer, thirteen students will be experiencing first-hand the policymaking and advocacy in our California state capitol. In addition to a rigorous course on California politics, the Fellows will also be interning full-time at various organizations, department agencies, Assemblymember and State Senate offices. This…

After a Semester with USF in DC

Jacqueline Garcia, Politics ’19, is a Newmark scholar as well as a recipient of the Betty L. Blakley scholarship. USF in D.C.—what an experience! On many levels and in ways I didn’t expect, the semester I spent in Washington D.C. changed me. I’ve always had an interest in public service and the common good; one of…

Preview the 2018 Capstone Symposium

The University of San Francisco Master of Arts in Urban Affairs and Master of Public Affairs invites you to join us for the 2018 graduating classes’ capstone presentations on May 14th and May 15th. The capstone project is the final requirement for the completion of their master’s degree and includes a well-researched analytical paper that…

Questions For John Chiang

California State Treasurer John Chiang will be our fifth speaker to participate in Conversations for the Common Good, a new speaker’s series that invites inclusive voices to the challenge of serving the public good. Join us in meeting California’s Treasurer, John Chiang and POLITICO’s Carla Marinucci in conversations on Thursday, March 22nd, 5:00 PM on…

How Cobb Elementary Transformed Me

Valeria Imendia, International Studies’18 I still remember receiving an email about a literacy internship opportunity during the fall semester of my junior year and thinking it would be a great chance for me to expand my experiences in education. As a student in the Dual Degree Program for Teacher Preparation, I decided to apply to…

Students in front of community center mural

Building Community Through Engage SF

For several years now, my Engage San Francisco colleagues and I have taken students, staff, faculty, supporters, and administrators on walks in the Western Addition. We intentionally don’t call them tours, as this is the neighborhood we work with, and community partners and community members join us on the walks. Most importantly, the word ‘tour’ rings of…

An International Student Who Wants You To Vote

USFVotes student volunteers on Move-in Day The National Voter Registration Day is on Tuesday, September 26th, and I want you to register! That’s a wish that might appear paradoxical due to the fact that I’m an international graduate student. I had a wonderful civics teacher back in Sweden who kept saying that voting is…