CommUniverCity celebrated its 11 year anniversary with an annual project showcase on April 27^th, 2016. Over 200 people entered the doors at Roosevelt Community Center to join in the festivities. The event included project activities, friendly participants, limited edition mini cupcakes, and a delicious taco bar hosted by a former participant from our Marketing Smarts program.

This year’s “Engage-Learn-Build” theme of the party was created in an effort to emphasize the important pillars of which CommUniverCity operates.

• Engage: CommUniverCity engages hundreds of students in service-learning every year as well as thousands of community residents with their projects.
• Learn: Facilitating programs that build community health and education is an essential role of CommUniverCity. The projects, many driven by San José State University students, illustrate a college-going culture.
• Build: Revitalizing neighborhoods and maintaining vibrant communities is important to CommUniverCity. District 3 Downtown San José is the focus of growth and rebuilding.

Guests were able to circle the room and visit each of the 15 signature projects that coincided with each theme pillar and had the chance to engage in a learning activity. Each table activity completed, yielded a raffle ticket to enter in the drawing for a prize that endorses either the Engage, Learn, or Build concepts. This year, the projects included:

1. Safe & Green Halloween
2. Youth/STEM
3. Marketing Smarts
4. Money Matters
5. Engineering in Action
6. Record Clearance Project
7. Writing Partners
8. A Taste of Their Future
9. Joven Noble & Xinachtli Sacred Circles
10. Get Out the Vote
11. Illegal Dumping
12. Friends of Five Wounds Trail & Five Wounds Villages
13. Community Planning
14. Growing Sustainably
15. College Day

David Tran, from the office of District 3 Raul Peralez, facilitated the event agenda and activities as this year’s emcee. Attendance included San José State University students and faculty, project participants, and community residents. CommUniverCitan of the Year Awards were presented to those who exemplified community leadership and commitment to building great neighborhoods with their long-term engagement with CommUniverCity.

Community Leader Award: Davide Vieira, Five Wounds/Brookwood Terrace

City of San Jose Award: Jo Zientek, Deputy Director, Environmental Services

SJSU Faculty Award: Rick Kos, Urban and Regional Planning

“Working with talented graduate students energizes me, colleagues like you are smart and kind, and my work through CommUniverCity feels fulfilling on a deep (spiritual?) level.”- Rick Kos

This year’s Golden Brick Award was presented to Susan Meyers for her visionary leadership in bringing CommUniverCity to life.

CommUniverCity thanks everyone for their support in making this year’s Celebrating Partnerships event a resounding success. Without the excellent collaboration efforts of community residents, San José State University, and the City of San José, these programs would not be possible.