Heidi Pena Ortiz '18 Wins Newman Civic Fellows Award

Heidi Peña Ortiz, a psychology major in Adelphi’s Levermore Global Scholars Program (LGS), has won a 2016 Newman Civic Fellows Award in honor of her leadership and commitment to creating social change.

In less than two years at Adelphi, she has helped form and lead the Latino/a Student Association and served as vice president of the LGS Student Leadership Council and of Females of Color United for Success. She has had leadership roles with Black Students United and Long Island Students for Educational Equality, which supported lobbying for the DREAM Act. 

Peña Ortiz, who moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic, said that at Adelphi she has felt “inspired to cause change.” 

The Newman Civic Fellows Awards are given annually by Campus Compact—a coalition of nearly 1,100 colleges and universities—to “inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country.” In the words of the Campus Compact website, “These students represent the next generation of public problem solvers and civic leaders. They serve as national examples of the role that higher education can—and does—play in building a better world.”

Reaz Khan ’13 is the previous Adelphi student to win the award. 

Learn more about Peña Ortiz and her award.