Christina Neitzey Named Newman Civic Fellow
Christina Neitzey, a junior from Hampstead who is majoring in psychology and criminal justice, has been chosen for the Newman Civic Fellows Award. This national honor recognizes college student leaders who have demonstrated their investment in finding solutions to the challenges that communities face.
“These students represent the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders,” noted Maureen Curley, president of Campus Compact, “They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can – and does – play in building stronger communities.”
Neitzey, a Levine Scholar, is focused on the experience of children and families in the judicial system. She is a volunteer guardian ad litem and serves as the court-appointed advocate for children who have been abused or neglected and who are currently in foster care. She works with their social workers, parents, foster families, attorneys and judges, to ensure their best interests are protected as decisions are made about their futures.
As an aspiring lawyer, she is an active member of the Pre-Law Society on campus, serving on the executive boardr, managing the organization’s community contacts and arranging for speakers at each meeting.
After her freshman year, she interned with the Junior League of Charlotte, and the following summer, she spent twelve weeks living in Washington, D.C. while she worked as an intern for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research, development and evaluation arm of the Department of Justice. At NIJ, she focused on grants and research involving violence against women, research-practitioner partnerships and human trafficking. She also had the opportunity to play an integral role in the launch of a new Department of Justice research initiative.
She most recently completed an internship with the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office, assisting in representing indigent clients charged with misdemeanors and felonies in Mecklenburg County by interviewing clients, collaborating with various members of the courts system and helping with preparation for jury trials.
The Newman Civic Fellows class of 2013 comprises 181 student leaders representing the nearly 1,200 Campus Compact member colleges and universities. Campus Compact is dedicated to campus-based civic engagement. The organization promotes public and community service to develop students’ citizenship skills, helps forge effective community/campus partnerships and provides resources and training for faculty members who seek to integrate civic and community-based learning into the curriculum.
The Levine Scholars Program is UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious merit scholarship program. Established in 2009 by benefactors Sandra and Leon Levine, the program awards roughly 15 scholarships each year to extraordinary high school seniors based on scholarship, ethical leadership and civic engagement.