Meadow View and Essex Place, Lewisburg
Getting to know local elementary and middle-school students has led Nneoma Ibezim ’18 to “an expanded perspective of what Lewisburg looks like,” she says.

After taking Professor Ramona Fruja’s Immigrant Youth in U.S. Society course, the Posse Scholar from Los Angeles was inspired to apply what she’d learned. The education professor and Ibezim partnered with Bucknell’s Office of Civic Engagement to offer after-school and summer programs at two affordable-housing complexes, Meadow View and Essex Place. The programs provide tutoring and recreational activities for youth from historically at-risk groups, including recent immigrants.

What She’s Doing:
Ibezim conducted observational research and planned lessons that create visual stories of life in rural Pennsylvania. Using the qualitative research method photovoice, she asks participants to represent their communities through photos. “Using photography gives them the opportunity to share their stories without any assumptions in the way,” says Ibezim.

What She Loves:
From studying abroad through Bucknell in London to serving as the Black Student Union president, Ibezim has been shaped by being engaged in and out of the classroom. “I chose to step into the community and be active from the beginning,” she
says. “It’s not as much about making a difference, but that I have been made different.”
— Paula Cogan Myers