Bard College Berlin’s Civic Engagement Fellows, Hanna Nelson ‘27 and Kamilla Szőcs ‘28, support small businesses and NGOs through Rem on Campus

Hanna Nelson ‘27 and Kamilla Szőcs ‘28 have been expanding the reach of Rem on Campus, which offers undergraduate students professional experience in the consulting field, during their journey as Civic Engagement Fellows for this academic year.

The Civic Engagement Fellowship honors students who demonstrate exceptional dedication and contribution to civic engagement and community involvement. The Fellowship supports students who aim to continue student-led projects with positive social impact, seeking to connect with Berlin communities and contribute to social change.

Nelson and Szőcs decided to apply for the Fellowship “to enable Rem to engage with BCB staff and faculty in a more structured way, and to help stabilize and grow its presence on campus” Szőcs explains.

This semester they were able to partner with a local NGO and a comedy club, providing semester-long support through a pro bono partnership. The students involved in Rem aim to develop a final project that addresses the needs and concerns expressed by the entrepreneurs at the start of the collaboration. As Szőcs says: “Receiving constant help from the Civic Engagement Office with events and strengthening our visibility, as well as having an assigned faculty mentor, above all gives us the motivation to keep doing what we do.”

Both Nelson and Szőcs began working with Rem during their first semester at BCB, and later that year they became chapter co-presidents. “This is how Kamilla and I began collaborating in our current capacity and we spent the summer aligning our visions of how we wanted to run Rem at BCB,” Nelson says.

Nelson and Szőcs describe the primary impacts of Rem at BCB as two fold. Firstly, this collaboration allows students to gain marketable skills through real-world exposure. Secondly, as Szőcs explains, “it helps small businesses and NGOs stay above water in their most vulnerable early stages, when help of any kind can go a long way.” In order to support current members as well as students interested in joining the team, Nelson and Szőcs will host informative sessions along with the standard semester-long partnerships.

Recently, they have organized an event with Anastasia Barner, the founder of FeMentor which is the first reverse mentoring platform in Europe. Barner spoke about advocating for yourself within the workplace and shared tips concerning networking.

You can follow their journey on their Instagram profile.

By: Hana Trenčanová '28

Post Date: 12-02-2025