Nebraska Define American RSO Wins National Award

Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Nebraska Define American RSO Wins National Award

Students raise awareness for immigration policy reform through the Define American student organization

The Define American Chapter at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln received the College Chapter of the Year award from the national organization in December.

To set themselves apart and further their mission of increasing awareness surrounding citizenship, the Nebraska student group worked with university administrators to start the Hope for the Future scholarship to mitigate the financial burden of school for those who cannot qualify for federal financial aid. Second, the student organization hosted a film festival and panel discussion to bring attention to the issues surrounding immigration and identity.

“Our organization became an active RSO last January. Once we became active, we wanted to start our mission to bring awareness through education about immigration, citizenship and identity,” said Valeria Rodriguez, chapter president. “We became aware of the award last summer and knew we would be competing against chapters who are also doing amazing things on their campuses to start the conversation about immigration.”

This is the first time Define American has hosted the awards which are meant to empower and elevate the voices of immigrants. Winners were selected online by popular vote.

The Nebraska student chapter was among two other chapters nationally nominated for the award, including the inaugural Define American chapter at Texas Tech. Collegiate chapters have been part of Define American since 2015. The organization now lists 18 collegiate chapters nationwide.

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