Abby Juhasz

As the Director for Community Engagement, I build strong, sustainable relationships with community partners to create opportunities for students to come alongside members of the Walla Walla community to support projects and initiatives identified by them as positively contributing to the community and their organizations' purposes. Additionally, I oversee the Community Fellow Program and mentor and advise students who serve as Community Engagement Leaders. It is my intention that community engagement experiences are mutually beneficial for the Whitman and Walla Walla communities. Through these opportunities, students learn about the Walla Walla Valley and themselves, participate as members of the community, and reflect on who they are, while, at the same time, they contribute to our partners' capacity to meet the needs of the community. I joined the Career and Community Engagement Center in 2012 and find this work to be a great blend of my experiences that stem from two decades of work in community engagement and education. I have a B.A. in Education and a M.A. in Educational Psychology, yet my most significant learning, and the experiences I draw upon most, come from relationships and community engagement experiences. When I was a college student I had the opportunity to serve in a role similar to the community engagement leader positions in the Center. As the Director for Community Engagement, I hope to offer this current generation of students similarly important opportunities to learn and engage in community. Milenko Matanovič, a Slovenian-born artist and community activator, said, "When it comes to community, together we always know more." Many students have shared with me over the years that by engaging in the Walla Walla community they meet people and have experiences that help their college experience feel more connected. There are lots of forms of knowledge, or ways of knowing, and by learning and engaging in the community, students can add depth to their knowledge that can be powerful and transformative. I invite you to reach out to me to discuss and explore community engagement opportunities.