We CU and the Humanities Research Institute (HRI) recently announced the 2024–2025 Humanities in Action scholars. The new cohort—composed of five students from across campus, including two from SLCL—will begin the program in fall 2024.

Now in its third year, the Humanities in Action program (HIA) aims to remove some of the financial barriers that prevent undergraduate humanities students from taking advantage of community engagement opportunities.

Selected by a competitive application process, HIA scholars are then matched—through the Community Learning Lab in the School of Social Work—with a community partner to address a vital area of need in the Champaign-Urbana community. The students will also attend workshops to strengthen their community partnerships and build connections with like-minded peers, and will learn more about HRI’s opportunities and the broader community of humanists at Illinois.

Meet the scholars

Alexandra Carbajal (class of 2026) is majoring in speech and hearing science with a concentration in speech-language pathology and a minor in Spanish. She is an intern at The Autism Program (TAP), where she participates in play group programs and creates visual resources for individuals on the autism spectrum.  She also volunteers at two elementary schools: as a student teacher aide at the International Prep Academy, the Champaign Unit 4 school district’s only whole-building dual language program, and also as a mentor at Urbana's Dr. Preston L. Williams Jr. Elementary (as part of the student organization Illini Mentor Program). As the bilingual daughter of two Mexican-immigrant parents, Alexandra is passionate about bridging the gap of support for multilingual students in the education system. Her goal is to become a bilingual speech-language pathologist, providing support to students and their families to navigate language barriers, improve communication skills, and offer appropriate resources.

Jimena López (class of 2026) is majoring in Spanish with a minor in legal studies and anthropology. She has been volunteering at non-profit organization The Immigration Project since her freshman year, working as an interpreter for attorneys and their clients, submitting documents for clients, overseeing applications for economic assistance, and helping with anything else that is needed. She has also volunteered on behalf of the organization at the annual Christie Clinic Race. Jimena is part of Chicago Scholars, an organization that helps students from Chicago succeed post-high school. On campus, she is a part of the university's Undergraduate Moot Court Team will be serving as president for the upcoming year. She passionately supports DACA because its recipients, Dreamers, demonstrate that dreams recognize no borders.