On a Wednesday evening in early April, a variation on the game of bingo was being played in the old St. Casimir Catholic School on the west side of South Bend.

An instructor from One More Citizen, a nonprofit organization that offers free citizenship classes, was calling out questions from the U.S. naturalization exam as part of a review exercise for local residents preparing for the test.

What did Susan B. Anthony do? Who are Indiana’s senators? During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?

People in the audience shouted “bingo” as they identified the correct answers on their cards.

Several Notre Dame students served as tutors to these aspiring citizens through the Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights’ Melsheimer Fellowship Program — an experiential learning program that the institute launched in 2024 with generous support from Thomas and Michelle Melsheimer.

The fellowship program is designed to provide students with experiences that will help them see firsthand how the ideals of civil and human rights play out in people’s lives.

“I applied to be a Melsheimer Fellow because I wanted to give back, but I also wanted to take away an educational experience for myself. And that’s exactly what the fellowship has accomplished for me,” said Alexandra Gonzalez-Amaro, a rising junior majoring in political science and minoring in civil and human rights. “Volunteering at One More Citizen has helped me to learn more about civil and human rights in the sense that I’ve seen how government policy affects a lot of individuals.”

The Melsheimer Fellowship is a two-year program. Thirteen students were selected as fellows for the 2024-25 academic year.

In the first year, fellows are given a $1,000 stipend and placed with a community partner dedicated to civil and human rights. Partner organizations during the past year included One More Citizen as well as the South Bend Reparatory Justice Commission and Notre Dame Law School’s Exoneration Justice Clinic.

In the second year, fellows may choose to continue in their community placements with a stipend or work as paid research assistants for the Klau Institute or a faculty member affiliated with the institute.

Fellows also participate in monthly social, educational, and enrichment activities with Klau Institute faculty fellows and staff.

“We know that students learn not only in the classroom, but also through experiences that they have outside of the classroom,” said Jennifer Mason McAward, associate professor of law and director of the Klau Institute.

“The Melsheimer Fellowship is a tremendous opportunity for students to work on advancing civil and human rights for folks in the South Bend community,” McAward said. “It’s also an opportunity for students to develop relationships and understand the dignity of every person with whom they come into contact.”

Getting out of ‘the bubble’

Several of the Melsheimer Fellows talked about the value of getting off campus and building relationships with people in the South Bend community.

“Before this fellowship, I had never really stepped foot outside of the Notre Dame bubble to see South Bend and meet South Bend residents. This fellowship has given me the opportunity to build relationships and get to know the community a lot better,” said Manouny Ouatara, a rising junior majoring in political science and French.

“One of those students that I tutored in the fall semester passed her citizenship test, and then I found out that she works at Modern Market at Notre Dame, so once a month we get lunch together,” Ouatara said. “If I didn’t step foot outside of the Notre Dame bubble and experience South Bend, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet this amazing person and continue that relationship that we built.”

And the Melsheimer Fellows are having a real impact through their work.

One More Citizen’s founder, Nancy Flores, said the fellows have emerged as leaders among the organization’s volunteers. “Every person who has gone through our classes has passed the naturalization exam,” Flores said. “We maintain a 100 percent pass rate because of our volunteers.”

JD Sniegocki and Veronica Bofah are two of the Melsheimer Fellows who worked at the South Bend Reparatory Justice Commission during the past academic year. Their work with the commission involved researching the history of housing discrimination in the city.

“The Melsheimer Fellowship has been a very meaningful and formative experience, and it has enabled me to give back to the South Bend community and get involved beyond the Notre Dame campus,” said Sniegocki, a rising junior majoring in global affairs and environmental sciences.

Bofah, a rising junior majoring in global affairs and Spanish and minoring in civil and human rights, added, “I’m really excited about the prospect of local residents being able to have a better understanding of the history of housing discrimination in South Bend and how it impacts our community today.”

Mia Chetalo, a rising junior majoring in global affairs and minoring in civil and human rights, said the Melsheimer Fellowship has added to what she’s learned in the classroom at Notre Dame. She served as a tutor at One More Citizen during the past year.

“I’m seeing those advocates for civil and human rights and the work they’re doing in practice,” Chetalo said.

“The most special thing about this program has been interacting with all of the wonderful people at One More Citizen — hearing about their life experiences and practicing my Spanish skills,” she said. “I think forming those relationships and just hearing about the immigration system from people who are experiencing that firsthand has really been the epitome of what it means to be a global affairs student and see how that works in action.”

Learn more about the Klau Institute’s Melsheimer Fellowship Program.

Originally published by Kevin Allen at klau.nd.edu on June 05, 2025.