Amanda Beavin, Outstanding Minor in Citizenship & Social Justice

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Congratulations to Amanda Bevin for winning the Outstanding Citizenship and Social Justice Minor award.

Amanda has been working towards her citizenship and social justice minor since her freshman year. While working towards her minor she met Dr. Cuomo, and was presented the opportunity to work as a research assistant for her project on technology-enabled abuse. Amanda says she is grateful for the experience and from it she was able to learn valuable lessons in qualitative research. She said of her time, “The classes, experiences, and people of the CSJ program have been some of the most influential in my college experience.”

The Citizenship & Social Justice minor also led her to other experiences and opportunities. Amanda worked at the Center for Citizenship and Social Justice where she got the opportunity to meet and develop relationships with other students and professors. While there she helped plan meaningful events around Bowling Green. During these events she also got first hand experience on the social justice issues many people across the country face. It was here where she found a passion for learning about and working to end food and housing insecurity.

Amanda has been an active student outside of her class work as well. This year, she served as the president for the Potter College of Arts and Letters Dean’s Council of Students. During her time on the council, she helped to plan the Fall Festival and organize the first PCAL wide food drive for the on campus food pantry. She has taken her talents and passion outside of Bowling Green as well. She completed an internship at New Roots, a Louisville-based food justice organization.  Amanda helped organize a pop-up food market in low-income neighborhoods with high rates of food insecurity.  When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, she was studying abroad in Thailand.  Unfortunately, that program was cut short due due to the global pandemic.

Amanda is currently considering two different paths after graduation. She plans to either apply for a grant to travel and research food insecurity in different areas, or she plans to attend graduate school. If she decides to attend graduate school she will study Environmental Sociology and Community Development. In the future, Amanda plans to have a career in qualitative research, community food system development, or become a professor and pass on the knowledge she has learned from the classroom and her own experience to future generations.