HomeBlogStudent Voices Bringing Our Whole CELves to the Table by Tiffanie Grant, Azul Bellot, Ben Krasnow, Kaz Kelly, Kira Campagna, Amelia Weaver, and Sanai Crosby August 1, 2025 Share: Section NavigationSkip section navigationIn this sectionBlog Home AI and Engaged Learning Assessment of Learning Capstone Experiences CEL News CEL Retrospectives CEL Reviews Collaborative Projects and Assignments Community-Based Learning Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity ePortfolio Feedback First-Year Experiences Global Learning Health Sciences High Impact Practices Immersive Learning Internships Learning Communities Mentoring Relationships Online Education Place-Based Learning Professional and Continuing Education Publishing SoTL Reflection and Metacognition Relationships Residential Learning Communities Service-Learning Signature Work Student Leadership Student-Faculty Partnership Studying EL Supporting Neurodivergent and Physically Disabled Students Undergraduate Research Work-Integrated Learning Writing Transfer in and beyond the University Style Guide for Posts to the Center for Engaged Learning Blog Pull up a chair. We’re glad you’re here. At this table, conversation matters, but so does who gets to speak and who gets heard. This isn’t just about having a seat—it’s about shaping the space together. In higher education, decisions are made every day. Decisions that shape programs, influence teaching methods, and define the student experience. With good intentions, new initiatives are launched and reforms take place, but too often, these shifts happen without the people they’re meant to serve: the students. At the Center for Engaged Learning (CEL), we the CEL Student Scholars, are helping shift that model. Through partnership, reflection, and co-creation, we bring student perspective into direct conversation with faculty, staff, and academic leaders. What we bring to the table isn’t abstract; it’s layered, personal, and powerful. While we all carry unique identities, backgrounds, and disciplines, we share a commitment to rethinking how learning happens and who gets to influence it. Each CEL Student Scholar has also contributed to one of CEL’s core seminar programs, expanding our insight through collaborative research and practice. From Affirming and Inclusive Engaged Learning for Neurodivergent Students (2024-2027), to Mentoring Meaningful Learning Experiences (2023-2026), to Learning on Location (2025–2028), these seminars deepen our understanding of what partnership and student-centered education truly looks like. What Do CEL Student Scholars Bring to the Table? As CEL Student Scholars, we bring a wide range of academic experiences, personal identities, and hands-on learning that shape how we engage, contribute, and collaborate. Academic Backgrounds Various high school experiences: We come from private, public, performing and visual arts high schools, spanning small to very large campuses and including IB, AP, and community college courses. Attendance at a private liberal arts college: online, hybrid, and in person Various majors and minors: business administration, elementary education, English, creative writing, environmental education, exercise science, human service studies, linguistics, media analytics, outdoor leadership and education, psychology, sports management, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Partnership and Research Experiences Past experiences with partnership: research, mentorship, student advisory board Research experiences/presentations: Elon University Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF), Elon University Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), Elon University Center for Engaged Learning Conference 2025, Board meeting – Burlington, NC, Spoken on Limed Podcast- Teaching with a Twist 2023, Center for Engaged Learning Blog Posts Work and Professional Experiences On-campus student jobs: admissions, Moseley front desk, summer facilities assistant, teaching assistant Off-campus: pre-school internship, hostess, waitressing, behavioral technician, elementary school assistant, grocery store staff, dog sitter Work-integrated learning: service-learning at after-school program, service-learning at schools, practicums, service-learning abroad, “It takes a Village project”, garden club Service, Leadership, and Campus Engagement Community service and activism: tutoring in the local communities, new student orientation, religious-oriented community service, TESOL volunteering, protesting, coordination for Alamance Girls in Motion Participation in student organizations and fellows/scholars programs: living learning communities (gender & sexuality, college fellows), student organizations (Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society, Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, Greek Life, garden club, EFFECT feminist), Odyssey Program Global and Linguistic Perspectives Global engagement: Study abroad experience in Ghana, Copenhagen, Turkey, South Africa, and upcoming experiences in Costa Rica and Ireland Languages: English, Spanish Personal Identities and Backgrounds Geographic location/“Home”: North Carolina, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania Identities: immigrant, LGBTQIA+, first generation, Catholic, Christian, man, woman, white, Mexican, neurodivergent, Filipino As CEL Student Scholars, we contribute lived experience, disciplinary insight, and critical questions that help shape not just conversations at Elon University, but the future of engaged learning here and beyond. About the Authors Tiffanie Grant and Azul Bellot (2023-2025 CEL Student Scholars); Ben Krasnow, Kaz Kelly, and Kira Campagna (2024-2026 CEL Student Scholars); and Amelia Weaver and Sanai Crosby (2025-2027 CEL Student Scholars) are undergraduate students whose diverse academic backgrounds and lived experiences shape their contributions to CEL’s research seminars and student partnership work. Learn more about the current Student Scholars. How to Cite this Post Grant, Tiffanie, Azul Bellot, Ben Krasnow, Kaz Kelly, Kira Campagna, Amelia Weaver, and Sanai Crosby. 2025. “Bringing Our Whole CELves to the Table.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog). August 1, 2025. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/bringing-our-whole-celves-to-the-table.
