Leaving a campus you’ve come to think of as home can be simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. You should always remember you’re not going through this transition alone. Keep in touch with your college friends. Encourage each other through challenges and celebrate each other’s victories, no matter how small. With a little effort on your part to keep in touch, these can be friends for a lifetime. 

This goes for professional contacts like professors and administrators as well. We hope in your time with CEEP one of the skills you’ve learned is networking. These contacts can alert you to personal, professional, and academic opportunities you may not otherwise find, and those opportunities can be life changing. You can also apply those networking skills to any new role you might take on to further your personal and professional growth.

Don’t be afraid to explore opportunities outside your field of study. Many of the happiest and most successful people in the world ended up doing things totally unrelated to their college degrees. This also applies in your personal life. You’ll continue to encounter new ideas, new groups and new people throughout your life, and if you stay open to them you never know which may bring you joy or comfort or peace. 

They say hard times make tough people, and it goes without saying we’re all in hard times right now. Always remember that you’re stronger than you realize and that if you are realistic, you are patient, and you persevere, you can achieve your goals. 

Below are the CEEP fellows graduating this semester. We’ll be looking out for big things from them in the future!

• Bianca Ibarra, AZ: Bianca has finished her associate’s degree in film and media production from Mesa Community College. She played a crucial role in putting on the first annual Arizona Student Voter Summit. 
• Axianaz Merone, FL: Axiana spent five semesters as a CEEP Fellow at Miami Dade College, where she just finisher her associate’s in Chemical Engineering. She put on many events in her time with CEEP, but one of the most impactful was this semester’s presentation to her SGA about the remaining candidates in the presidential race.
• Samuel Spencer, FL: Sam’s Active Citizenship Workshop at the University of South Florida produced a lot of engagement this semester. He is graduating with his bachelor’s in Cellular and Molecular Biology.
• Katie Rasmussen, FL: Katie has been with CEEP 5 semesters and just finished her bachelor’s in Psychology at the University of North Florida. She overcame some of the challenges of working alone to have a major impact on her campus.
• Akeem Anglin, FL: Akeem is graduating from Florida International University with his bachelor’s in Economics. He is passionate about student engagement and was always thinking about ways to reach more students.
• Geyris Batista, FL: Geyris is also a Florida International University grad, having completed her bachelor’s in Real Estate. She made her voter registration and education tables a success, engaging with students one on one.
• Cierra Stewart, OH: A University of Dayton grad with a degree in Political Science, Cierra was a one year CEEP fellow and a longtime member of UD Votes. She worked tirelessly to engage her peers even after her state’s election was changed and her campus was shut down.
• Sidney Steele, MO: Sidney stayed very active on her campus and came up with creative ideas like dorm storms and absentee ballot tables to get her peers engaged. She is graduating from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s in Journalism and Political Science
• Daymon Bailey, VA: Graduating with a degree in Sociology from Old Dominion University, Daymon was always looking for new and creative ways to engage students on his campus.
• Negus Assefa, VA: Negus used creative methods like a block party and reaching out to local officials to get students excited about voting. He is graduating from Old Dominion University with a degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology.
• Victoria Waddell, VA: Is a graduating senior from the University of Virginia with a degree in International Relations. 
• Josh Scrabeck, VA: Josh completed his bachelor’s in Political Science at Christopher Newport University. 
• Blake Emmanuel, PA: Blake is graduating with a degree in Professional Studies from West Chester University. She worked to get students on her campus to register to vote and “go one step further” to make sure they turned out. She was particularly focused on nontraditional students like herself. 
• Lauren Ban, PA: Lauren worked to educate her peers at the University of Pittsburgh about gerrymandering and get them to engage with local civic and nonprofit leaders. She is graduating with a bachelor’s in History and Economics.
• Greg Gavazzi, PA: A Penn State University Chemical Engineering graduate, Greg worked to get his campus to share voting resources via an all-student email, and appeared on CEEP’s Your Vote Matters podcast to talk about the experience. 
• Adanya Scurry, PA: Adanya is a first semester CEEP Fellow graduating with her associate’s in Healthcare Studies from the Community College of Philadelphia. She stayed engaged with the CCP votes team even after quarantine to help get the word out to students about changed voting processes.
• Raia Santos, PA: Raia is graduating with her associates degree in Political Science from the Community College of Philadelphia. She helped put on a variety of events at her school from voter registration tables to debate watch parties to online organizing to let students know about their changed primary date. That variety helped students stay engaged and interested in the election.
• Ryan Gunther, NJ: Ryan is just finishing his first semester with CEEP, but helped put on a wildly successful Super Tuesday results viewing party before on-campus operations were cut short. He is graduating with his associates degree in Political Science from Brookdale Community College.
• Jocelyn Medina, MI: While she was only a CEEP Fellow for one semester, Jocelyn multiplied her impact by training student life staff to register students to vote and answer common questions students may have about voting. She is graduating with her associates degree from Grand Rapids Community College.
• Kat O’Donnell, MI: Graduating from Western Michigan University with a bachelor’s in Arts Management, Kat worked with CEEP all of her senior year and had a major impact on her campus.