In this season of gratitude, the Seed Coalition team is particularly thankful to all of the students and staff who joined us for our 2025 Civic Action Academy!
On November 14th and 15th, more than 100 students representing 18 Seed Coalition campuses gathered at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. The event included 15 student-led breakout sessions, allowing student leaders from 13 of our member campuses to present to their peers. Participants also had the chance to view the Community Crate from Uplift -The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot, reflect with Representative Angel Ramirez on why Gen Z voices are imperative in leadership roles, and create our very own Made By US Wish Wall for America’s 250th birthday.
It was an exciting, joyful, and empowering event – but don’t take our word for it! Check out some pictures of the event and quotes from those in attendance!
“This was my first CAA, and I hope that it’s not my last. It was a great space to share and build on ideas of what other campuses and communities are doing.”
This experience deepened my understanding of what it means to lead with purpose…. [I’m grateful for] a space where student voices, visions, and values come together to shape a better tomorrow.
“[The Civic Action Academy] was amazing, fantastically organized, I met such great people and everyone/everything created an open environment and come-as-you-are culture.”
“This experience deepened my understanding of what it means to lead with purpose. I left feeling energized, reflective, and ready to take action. [I’m] grateful to Seed Coalition for creating a space where student voices, visions, and values come together to shape a better tomorrow. We may be young, but we have important things to say and fresh, relevant perspectives the world needs to hear.”
“Genuinely, I found it really enlightening just how passionate my peers are about advocacy, and how much we all truly want to help, but just maybe don’t know how to get the ball rolling.”
“I expected everyone to be in ‘helping’ professions but was delighted to meet people from many different majors who are working towards the same goals as I am. The way of the world is so divided, it was nice to see I have allies in non-helping professions who recognize the same things I do and are working towards change within their own fields.”
We are excited to share that the Civic Action Academy will return to Wartburg College on November 13th-14th, 2026! Save the date and plan to join us for another exciting and impactful event. If you have questions or want to learn more about the Civic Action Academy, please reach out to Kara Trebil-Smith at ktrebilsmith@seed-coalition.org.
