iSchool undergraduates Madisen LeShoure and Harshitha Vetrivel have been awarded Kathryn J. Oberdeck Social Justice Scholarships. The scholarship program, which is sponsored by the Campus Faculty Association at Illinois, awards $1,000 scholarships for undergraduate students who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to social justice in the community. LeShoure and Vetrivel were among the five students selected for this honor, and both applied with projects that they are working on with the Community Data Clinic (CDC), which is led by Associate Professor Anita Say Chan.
LeShoure is a rising senior in the BSIS program. She is working on a research project that investigates the social implications of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) in Champaign County. Her contributions include creating a mapping resource to raise awareness of how surveillance intersects with race. LeShoure was recently selected as a Community Academic Scholar to conduct research with a faculty member and a local organization in Champaign-Urbana.
Vetrivel is a rising junior in the BSIS + DS program. She serves as a co-host and audio engineer of the ConnectED podcast, an initiative that amplifies the voices of individuals in East-Central Illinois and serves as a spark for igniting conversations surrounding digital equity, literacy, and access. The podcast is available on the CDC website.
Both students will continue their work with the CDC in the fall semester. MSLIS student Evan Allgood serves as a project coordinator for LeShoure and Vetrivel's projects.