Community Engaged Learning
Connecting academia with communities to cultivate positive societal impact.
About CEL
Community Engaged Learning (CEL) at the University of Utah bridges academia and communities to create positive impact. For students, CEL offers courses and programs to help align education with community engagement, including a Certificate and Scholars distinction. For faculty, CEL is a hub for training, resources, and support to enhance quality community engagement in courses. For community partners, CEL is the gateway to connect with university resources and programs.
What's Happening in CEL
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Spring 2025 CEL Workshop Series
The Spring 2025 CEL Workshop Series will be on Community Based Participatory Research will be led by Dr. Ana Antunes who has recently published the book “All In: Community Engaged Scholarship for Social Change.”
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Student Highlight: Akila Chalapathi
Akila Chalapathi, a fourth-year student at the University of Utah and a Bennion Scholar for three years, is collaborating with the International Refugee Committee (IRC) and Dr. James Bekker from the School of Dentistry for her Capstone project.
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Student Highlight: Eliana Massey
Eliana Massey, a student in their final year at the University of Utah majoring in Philosophy of Science and museum studies, has been working on a capstone project developing a curriculum on culturally significant plants and foods that connect the Pacific Islands and the Americas for Pacific Heritage Academy (PHA), a K-8 charter school in Rose Park.
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Faculty Highlight: Lily Alavi
Lily Alavi, an associate instructor in the Department of World Languages and Culture, has made community-engaged learning a cornerstone of her teaching. Her journey into this field began shortly after moving to Utah in 2009 when she attended a Bennion Center conference introducing her to service learning.
Staff
Megan Medina
Director
Gaëlle Perrier
Student Programs Manager
About Megan
Megan Medina
Director
Megan was born and raised in North Dakota and earned her B.A. in Communication Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. After teaching English in Guangxi, China for two years, Megan moved to Utah and fell in love with the mountains. Megan earned her Master of Public Administration at the U and started working at the Bennion Center in the fall of 2017 before directing Community Engaged Learning starting in 2022.
As the Director of Community Engaged Learning, Megan supports faculty interested in incorporating community engagement in their courses and scholarship. She manages the CEL course designation and the Community Engaged Learning Assistant (CELA) program.
When not advocating for Community Engaged Learning, Megan likes adventuring in the mountains, gardening, and spending time with her family.
About Gaëlle
Gaëlle Perrier
Student Programs Manager
Gaëlle, originally from France, earned a Masters in International Law with an emphasis on Human Rights and Humanitarian Action. She worked as a Human Rights officer in various countries before completing a Ph.D. in Political Sociology at the University of Utah. Gaëlle became the Community Engaged Learning Student Programs Manager in 2023.
In her role, she oversees the Bennion Community Engaged Scholars program and the Community Engagement Certificate. She focuses on making those programs accessible to all and offering comprehensive support to CEL students as they make community engagement a defining feature of their experience at the U.
Outside of work, Gaëlle loves staying engaged in her local community while creating all kinds of memories with her family.