CAITLIN-JEAN
JURICIC OF SEWANEE-THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH, a
sophomore on the women’s lacrosse team from Michigan City,
Ind., has been has been selected the SCAC Character & Community
Female Student-Athlete-of-the-Week for the week ending March 25,
2012.
Juricic, a Political Science Major and an
International and Global Studies minor, is the only sophomore
member of the Community Engagement House on campus. The mission of
this on campus house is to promote a seamless community among
college and seminary students, faculty, and staff as well as
residents of surrounding areas by hosting events open to all,
facilitating networking, and providing a physical meeting place for
organizations devoted to serving the community at large. The house
serves as an entity and liaison of the Outreach Office with the
local and university community by creating an on-going exchange for
how to better positively connect and learn about the current
differences of each community.
In addition to the service work within the house,
Juricic is also one of the pilot Bonner Scholars
at Sewanee, in which 240 hours of community service, at minimum,
must be performed each academic year in various programs. As a
Bonner Leader, Juricic encourages and develops
other students to act as leaders in service learning work and
serves as the volunteer coordinator and program supporter at the
Campora Family Resource Center. At the center, she recruits and
works with student/community volunteers and engages them in
after-school tutoring programs in addition to drug prevention
programs, parenting classes, and social/life skills and self-image
improvement programs for young teens. By recruiting university
students, she has not only greatly increased volunteers at service
learning sites, but has also increased awareness within the
university community about the socio-economic struggles in one of
the poorest Appalachia counties in Tennessee which neighbor the
University’s Domain. Juricic is currently
researching and proposing government/independent grants for the
Campora Family Resource Center to provide additional aid to these
programs to further enhance their mission and network through
proper increased funding.
When not involved in these two programs, Juricic has continued her service work through volunteering with the Outreach organization Housing Sewanee (comparable to Habitat for Humanity). This program helps those members of the Sewanee community who cannot afford a high monthly mortgage or down payment through volunteers working to insure that these community members no longer need to dream of home ownership.
Since her freshman year, she has participated in the New Orleans Outreach trip, which continues the support efforts of post-Hurricane Katrina through partnering with local organizations in their efforts of rebuilding the city to what it once was.
To attest to her character and leadership, Juricic currently serves as the Class of 2014 representative on the Honor Council. Not only does she serve as a representative but also is a member of the Executive Committee within the council, holding the leadership role of Secretary. She has previously worked as a Pre-Orientation staff member for new incoming college students, which offers the opportunity for these students to become familiar with the university through a unique and exciting experience, introducing to the traditions, customs and the Domain. Within her sorority, Alpha Delta Theta, Juricic serves as the Intramural Chair. Juricic also is a member of the BACCHUS program which encourages responsible drinking behavior within the campus community, and provides safe rides in and around the university campus.