A Heartland Community College student has been recognized in a national effort for college civic engagement.
Heartland student Andria Merkle has been named to the 2024 ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge organization.
The ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll awards college students doing outstanding work to advance nonpartisan democratic engagement at participating campuses. Merkle joins a group of 137 students recognized for their voter registration, education, and voter turnout efforts.
During her time at Heartland Merkle served as President of the Political Science Club, as Treasurer of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and as a member of the Heartland Council on Family Relations where she worked to bring family friendly activities to campus, provide service to those in need and host events to raise awareness about important causes. She also served on the District 540 Community College Board as Heartland’s Student Trustee.
Merkle took on the role of Advocacy Day Chair for the Illinois Community College Board Student Advisory Committee (ICCB SAC), where she assisted in the planning of 2024’s Student Advocacy Week for the Illinois Community College System. Throughout the year she collaborated with Student Trustees statewide, orchestrating letter-writing campaigns and arranging meetings between Heartland student leaders and legislators for Student Lobby Day.
“Andria is well known across campus for her leadership and service commitment,” said Sarah Tipton, Heartland Community College Director of Student Engagement. “Andria organized voter information efforts out ahead of both the November and April elections by partnering with the League of Women Voters to host “Bagels and Ballots” events. She has also made community service for those in need a top priority through multiple efforts, including working with the YWCA. She is very deserving of this national honor.”
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement. With the support of the ALL IN staff, campuses that join the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge complete a set of action items to institutionalize nonpartisan civic learning, political engagement, and voter participation on their campus. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge currently engages more than 9.8 million students from more than 960 institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
