National interfaith fellows serve Cedar-Riverside neighborhood

Bushra Sumrain ’27 and Mahamed Yusuf ’26 have received a prestigious fellowship from Interfaith America to support student activities at Augsburg in partnership with the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. This opportunity builds on Yusuf’s work as an Interfaith Fellow and Emblem Fellow in collaboration with Sumrain’s leadership. Najeeba Syeed, El-Hibri Endowed Professor of Interfaith Studies and executive director of Augsburg’s Interfaith Institute, will serve as advisor to the project.  

This fellowship is the first grant-funded initiative overseen by Action in Community Transformation (ACT), a new student organization led by Sumrain and advised by Syeed. “ACT was formed in response to a shared desire among Augsburg students to become more involved in community service and create meaningful opportunities to support our neighbors,” Yusuf says. The initiative, which focuses on providing essential hygiene supplies to the Cedar-Riverside community, relies on ACT’s core values: commitment to community service, interfaith collaboration, and meeting neighbors’ needs with dignity and compassion. ACT is one of three new student organizations approved by the Augsburg Day Student Government this semester.

“We look forward to partnering with Augsburg University departments, local organizations, and places of worship to strengthen community relationships and expand our collective impact across Cedar-Riverside,” Yusuf says. “We are excited to continue this work and build on the partnerships that make community-driven change possible.”

Learn more about Augsburg’s Interfaith Institute and the Action in Community Transformation student group.