Shenandoah University Receives Grant To Become An Ask Every Student Commitment Campus

Written by Natalie Gales ’25

In the 2025 Fall Term, Shenandoah University received a $1,500 grant from Ask Every Student (AES), a nonprofit organization focused on voter registration education. To this end, the funds support First Year Seminar (FYS) student mentors as they teach their fellow students about registering to vote.

AES is a program associated with the Campus Vote Project, another nonprofit that encourages college students to register to vote. For several years, the Campus Vote Project has served as a partner organization to Shenandoah’s Center for Civic Engagement (CCE). At least one SU student is chosen for a Campus Vote Project fellowship each year, and SU’s current fellow is senior Sarah Baldau ’26, who applied for the AES grant.

AES differs from other voter registration educators in that it takes a more hands-on approach to teaching. It seeks to engage with all students, not just those already interested in civic engagement. 

As such, AES, the CCE, and FYS are partnering up to teach first-year students about the power of their votes. During their training, all FYS mentors — sophomore through senior students who serve as guides in their FYS classes — watched a presentation by Baldau, modeling how to engage with students and teach them about their voting rights. Following the presentation, mentors were prepared to deliver the same information to their classes.

While it could have been FYS professors teaching their students about voter registration, Baldau and Rebecca Gibson — the director of the CCE — wanted to put student mentors at the forefront of the campaign. “Students are more receptive to hearing from their peers,” Gibson said.

So far, one third of the FYS mentors have taught their classes about voter registration or will do so in the near future. However, Gibson doesn’t want to see the campaign end there. Ideally, all FYS classes will receive the voter registration presentation before election day, ensuring that all students in the class of 2029 are prepared to engage democratically.

Looking further ahead, Gibson hopes to grow Hornets’ participation in the electoral process. As of five years ago, SU students voted at a higher rate than other American college students; in the 2020 presidential election, 66% of all university students voted compared to 71% of SU students. To keep increasing voter participation, the CCE intends to maintain its collaboration with FYS mentors so that in four years, the entire undergraduate student body will know about voter registration and their voting rights. 

Should students seek other ways to participate in the electoral process, Gibson invites them to take part in National Vote Early Day on Oct. 28. CCE employees will aid students in forming early voting plans, as well as drive them to the voting center in Winchester. Likewise, Nov. 4 is Election Day. In the afternoon, CCE staff will walk with FYS students from Sarah’s Glen to the polls in Jim Barnett Park, where students who are registered to vote with their campus address can cast their ballot. This option provides a sense of comfort to students who may be daunted by the prospect of voting for the first time. 

For other questions and concerns, students are also always welcome to visit the CCE office in the Brandt Student Center, Room 119.