This summer that passion evolved through her volunteer work with Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s Civic Education & Innovation (CEI) Summer of Service program with the Â鶹¹ÙÍø Fire Department and regional emergency response organizations. Rather than focusing solely on emergency response, the position introduces Trujillo to the many agencies working together to strengthen public health, emergency preparedness, and community safety throughout Poweshiek County.
A week of free performances and hands-on workshops connected Â鶹¹ÙÍø families with Iowa history, storytelling, music, and creativity through a partnership between the Â鶹¹ÙÍø Museum of Art and community organizations.
Students who have strong ties to their communities received a new scholarship and have found ways to connect here in Â鶹¹ÙÍø.
In May, a diverse lineup of events — from personal storytelling and perfumed oral histories to statewide networking and films from the Smithsonian — brought that mission to life.
Monica Chavez-Silva has been appointed to the board of Youth Advocate Programs.
Â鶹¹ÙÍø, local power company Alliant Energy, the Ahrens Family Foundation, the Mayflower Community, and the City of Â鶹¹ÙÍø has partnered on a new solar park, ensuring that will 75% of Â鶹¹ÙÍø's power will come from renewable sources.
Â鶹¹ÙÍø will welcome Antionette Priscilla Carroll as the 2026 Social Innovator in Residence, bringing a nationally recognized leader in equity-centered design to campus for a fall 2026 residency focused on trust, community agency, and sustainable systems change.
Four Â鶹¹ÙÍø community members received President's Awards through the Seed Coalition recognizing their work in civic engagement.
At the covered entrance of Drake Community Library, a simple but meaningful new resource is quietly making a difference. The Â鶹¹ÙÍø Community Fridge offers 24-hour, no-questions-asked access to fresh and recovered food — providing another layer of support for community members navigating food insecurity. For Rachel Rudacille ’26, the project has been more than a volunteer effort. It has been an opportunity to listen, learn, and help build something lasting alongside community partners.
In spring 2025, Assistant Professor of Education, Jonathan Larson piloted a course that invited students to explore experientially and critically how well education in the US has prepared students for the workplaces of today, and how it might adjust for those of the future.
Waterways in Iowa are stressed like never before, and the trusted repositories of environmental data are being eviscerated ... If we want to know what's going on, increasingly it's good if we can collect data ourselves.
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