The Center for Civic Friendship is launching The Civic Friendship Playbook, highlighting the power of sports as a way to foster connection, inclusion, and shared purpose. Whether you are an athlete or a fan, the lessons and values of sports offer a model for constructive engagement across difference.
What is the Civic Friendship Playbook?
The Civic Friendship Playbook has the potential to address some of the core challenges that college students face. Many feel pressure to stay silent, avoid difficult conversations, or fit in rather than speak honestly. At the same time, constant online connection can make it harder to develop meaningful friendships and a true sense of belonging. Civic friendship is not about simply being polite or avoiding conflict. It teaches students how to disagree honestly while staying connected, respectful, and committed to one another. Civic friendship means treating people with different views as partners in a shared learning community.
Alice Nderitu, the inaugural Civic Friendship Fellow, brings significant experience to developing this initiative. Her decades-long career as a mediator and peacebuilder in conflict-affected settings worldwide exemplifies the integration of moral seriousness, institutional leadership, and applied insight that defines the Center’s mission. As United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, she played a leading role in developing The Game Plan, the United Nations policy on countering hate through sports. Partnering with professional sports leaders, Nderitu chaired the Sports Working Group of Eradicate Hate, a major initiative formed in response to the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh. At Assumption, she looks at the flipside of hate, borrowing from the framework established for The Game Plan but re-oriented toward the explicit formation of civic friendship.
Sports offer a powerful analogy for this work. Students in the program will help strengthen community life on campus by exploring the values, culture, and lessons of sports. You don’t have to be a varsity athlete—anyone who has played a sport, been part of a team, or simply loves sports is welcome. Participants will work directly with Ms. Nderitu to show how athletics can inspire leadership, bridge-building, and the common good.
Importantly, The Civic Friendship Playbook is not designed only for highly involved students, but also for those who may feel disconnected or unsure how to get involved. By using familiar language, visible campus activities, and team-based experiences, we can create welcoming and accessible entry points into campus life.
Civic Friendship Ambassador Awards
Assumption University invites applications for a new round of Civic Friendship Ambassador Awards. Recipients will receive a $2,000 scholarship and play an active role in helping launch and shape The Civic Friendship Playbook. Ambassadors will work with campus partners to design activities, pilot new ideas, and help refine The Civic Friendship Playbook based on real student experience.
Civic friendship prepares students not only for careers, but for citizenship. Ambassadors will model what civic friendship looks like in everyday student life—through athletics, residence halls, student organizations, and community engagement.
Become a Playbook Ambassador
Application Requirements: Admitted students are invited to complete the online application. Applicants should submit a 500-word essay reflecting how participation in sports or other collaborative experiences has helped them bridge divides, build connection and work toward shared goals. Essays should also propose how applicants would help foster civic friendship at Assumption. You will be prompted to enter your portal username and password.
Application Due: March 16, 2026
Scholarship Amount: $2,000 renewable scholarship
For questions, please contact Kaitlyn Hastings or Mary Jane Rein.
What is Civic Friendship?
Civic friendship is about building bridges, not tearing them down.
Rooted in a commitment to building strong communities, civic friendship encourages people from diverse backgrounds to connect beyond their differences, forming more welcoming and inclusive societies.
Civic friendship is the foundation of who we are at Assumption University. Through the Center for Civic Friendship, our mission is to cultivate the virtue of civic friendship in students and teachers at Assumption and across the nation.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the application due?
March 16, 2026
When will applicants find out if they are awarded?
Applicants should receive their decision by the end of March.
What is the scholarship amount?
$2,000 renewable as long as student maintains satisfactory academic progress and maintains active participation each semester throughout their 4 years.
Are the scholarships stackable?
The scholarship is stackable with other Assumption University scholarship funding, but your total Assumption scholarship funding (all types: merit, need based, etc.) cannot exceed full time tuition in any given year. Additionally, if you are receiving need based funding as a result of filing the FAFSA, some of your funding (grants, loans, and federal work study) may need to be adjusted as a result of this additional funding.
If I applied to the Civic Friendship Scholars in the Fall, can I apply to the Civic Friendship Playbook?
Students who have applied and did not receive a Civic Friendship Scholarship are eligible to apply to the Civic Friendship Playbook. Students receiving Civic Friendship Scholarships and/or are a SALS Fellowship are ineligible for this scholarship.
Globally Renowned Peacebuilder and Conflict-Resolution Expert Alice Nderitu Appointed Civic Friendship Fellow at Assumption University
Nderitu has dedicated her life to building peace in some of the world’s most divided regions, including the Balkans, Nigeria, Myanmar, Kenya, and South Africa. As the inaugural Civic Friendship Fellow, she brings unparalleled global experience to Assumption’s mission of forming students who seek truth in the company of friends.