April 12, 2022 — The CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) student who founded the national Youth Pride Association (YPA) has been named a 2022-2023 Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow.
Chemistry major Cameron Bartosiewicz, who founded the 501(c)3 to support and advocate for LGBTQ youth, is among 173 students from 38 states and Mexico to be named a Newman Fellow.
Bartosiewicz and the other college students were awarded the year-long fellowship based on their commitment to finding solutions to a variety of challenges facing communities locally, nationally, and internationally.
“I was ecstatic,” Bartosiewicz said. “I’m mostly looking forward to the opportunity to network with all of these other Newman fellows. I’m excited to gain the skills to better address issues LGBTQ students face in the classroom, like higher rates of depression, anxiety and harassment. And the hate crimes. More than 10% of all hate crimes occur on college campuses.”
The Newman Fellowship will enable Bartosiewicz to attend a national convention of the Newman Civic Fellows in the Fall— a regular event co-sponsored by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate and Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities. Campus Compact institutions are committed to educating students on civic and social responsibility and creating opportunities for students to help improve their respective communities.
Aside from connecting with a national network of student leaders like himself, Bartosiewicz will also receive one-on-one leadership development with a local mentor.
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Toni DeBoni nominated Bartosiewicz for the fellowship because she believed his skill at leadership and community organizing led to a program that is addressing a critical need among LGBTQ youth and college students.
“Cameron inspires change, not only in our policy or practice, but in the people he works alongside to make a positive difference for our communities,” DeBoni said.
Bartosiewicz launched the YPA after doing research for a communication class in which he discovered how high suicide and depression rates were among LGBTQ youth. He thought something needed to be done, so he and a few of his peers launched the YPA.
“We work to promote and foster acceptance in any educational institution,” he said. “High schools, colleges, vocational schools, middle schools. I’ve lately been talking to parents at an elementary school.”
YPA hosted the Acceptance Week program at Royal High school in Simi Valley, which
is a week that includes education about LGBTQ individuals, question and answer forums, resources for LGBTQ youth and other activities to foster an atmosphere of acceptance and inclusion.
A survey conducted among the students after the event were positive, overall, including comments like:
“I hope this can be done yearly at our school. It was very needed and very informative,” and “It helped show me which of my teachers I can trust. I’m happy to know I can.”
This spring, a national YPA support group launched in 30 states for any LGBTQ individual 13 years or older and will be guided by a volunteer mental health professional.
“I think there is a vast population that is LGBTQ supportive but the minority who oppose them are getting more violent and hostile,” Bartosiewicz said. “
Along with the Newman Fellowship, Bartosiewicz’s efforts were also recognized at CSUCI’s Fall Convocation on August 19, 2021 when Interim President Yao, Ph.D., presented Bartosiewicz with a 2021 President’s Award for Student Innovation.
“Cameron saw a need in his community and took active steps to address it by beginning a new nonprofit 501(c)3 organization to support LGBTQ students called The Youth Pride Association or YPA,” Yao said during Fall Convocation. “We are proud to have Cameron in the Dolphin Pod.”