Kaitlyn Tracey, a senior at Neumann University, is on a mission to get her classmates to register and vote in the Nov. 3 election.

Tracey has been named a Democracy Fellow by the Campus Vote Project, an organization that works to reduce barriers to student voting and empower them with the information they need to register and vote.

The paid fellowship requires Tracey to work 10-15 hours a week, organizing voting awareness events and outreach programs.

She has already helped to arrange post-debate discussions for Neumann students, staffed voter registration tables at various locations on campus, and posted information about voting on social media platforms.

Tracey hosted an Instagram Live Q&A session with students in the days after the October 19 voter registration deadline in Pennsylvania.

Many college students are first-time voters, and she wants to make sure that they feel at ease with the process.

She’s also working with the campus safety office to coordinate at least two campus shuttle buses for all-day rides to polling places on Nov. 3 for those who have registered locally.

“I’m learning so much, and it’s drawing me into the process,” explains Tracey, a social work major. “And I’m seeing a lot more student interest in voting for this year’s election.”

She was encouraged to apply for the fellowship by Bridget Haines-Frank, the university’s dean of students, and learned in August that she had been accepted. Tracey is one of only 300 Democracy Fellows in the country and one of 50 in Pennsylvania.

On campus, she collaborates with a voter engagement committee that includes the political science and social work academic departments, campus ministry, student government, campus safety, and the dean of students.

The fellowship also connects Tracey with college students across the county, some from prestigious universities such as Yale and Harvard.

The fellows hold weekly virtual meetings and discuss ways to increase student voting.

“It’s amazing to see what other students are doing on other campuses and to see people like me doing the same thing for voter awareness,” Tracey says.

The experience has enabled Tracey to see beyond this year’s presidential election and realize the importance of all elections – state, local and national.

“It’s about educating students on voting, not just presidential but also local elections, so they understand why their votes matter,” she says.