A Voting Volunteer’s Duty: How One Student is Educating the York College Community on their Civic Rights

One York College student is making sure her fellow Spartans never miss their chance to vote.

When Business Analytics major and Math minor Alyssa DeFranks ‘27 came to York College of Pennsylvania, one of the major appeals she discovered was how career-focused her experience could be. There were ample opportunities for her to apply what she was passionate about and what she had learned in the classroom in the real world. 

Alyssa quickly found many ways to get involved both on and off campus. As an Eisenhart Scholar, she was connected to the Spartan Volunteer Network and kept informed about applications for positions she could step into.

She applied for the Leonard Summer Fellowship towards the end of her first year, seeking more research opportunities and connections with the York community. The fellowship encouraged her to dive deep into voter and civic engagement research, and as a result, the experience inspired Alyssa to continue getting involved as the Voter and Civic Engagement Project Coordinator on campus.

“Obviously, during the primary election season, I was doing a lot with voting,” Alyssa said. “And through that position, it was able to teach me a lot about local elections and how impactful that is.”

“But it’s definitely grown from being a job to more like a passion.”

From there, Alyssa continued to create more ways for her and her fellow Spartans to stay informed about voting. In the 2025 Fall Semester, she organized a Ballots and Brunch Panel Discussion where five local community members were invited to campus to talk to students about civic and voting engagement and the impact they can have both individually and within the on- and off-campus community, and even at home.

She also hosted a Civic Engagement Week from March 23-27, 2026, with tables across campus offering students opportunities to stop by between classes to learn more about civic engagement and voting. Students could either write letters to local representatives, participate in a virtual scavenger hunt, or enter a poster competition to inform other students, faculty, or alumni about what they can do to foster voter and civic engagement outside of primary elections.

“It’s connecting students with different opportunities through volunteering on campus, but also volunteering off campus and learning more about volunteering in general, class engagement in general, but also the community partners and campus partners we work with,” Alyssa said.

Alyssa even participated in Cooking Up Connections, a program led by Liz Morales, whom Alyssa connected with at her Ballots and Brunch event, that teaches middle school students social and emotional skills through cooking.

“I have so much fun connecting with these students, talking with the students, [and] talking with Liz,” she said. “Every conversation I have there is very meaningful and very purposeful.”

Now, Alyssa is looking for ways to get students interested in volunteering connected with more options on campus. Not only is she currently working with Greek Life to have them get involved through the Spartan Volunteer Portal and exploring how to bring more campus or community partners to campus, but she also wants to host a larger Ballots and Brunch event that would plant the seed of voter engagement among first-year students.

Ultimately, she wants to ensure that people are informed and, in turn, help reach others who may not have the same access to information about voting and civic rights that most people do. That is how she chooses to live as a Spartan who finds passion in serving others.

“I feel like a lot of people have opinions around everything, and it’s 100% okay to have your own opinion. I feel like that’s what society has formed around - having your own opinion,” Alyssa said. “However, I don’t think people fully take the steps to have their opinions be heard. I think connecting with your local community, connecting with your local representatives, is a big part of getting your opinions heard and for change to happen.”