When Lyrica Gee ’26 began helping classmates navigate voting, she saw firsthand how access to information could shape civic participation. Now, her efforts are earning national recognition.
Gee has been named to the ALL IN Student Voting Honor Roll, recognizing her work to advance nonpartisan voter registration, education and turnout at Kalamazoo College. A Civic Engagement Scholar with K Votes, Gee is one of 168 students nationwide selected for the fifth annual honor roll from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. She is the first student to be involved in K Votes across all four of her years at the College.
K Votes is a nonpartisan coalition that promotes voting and civic engagement among students, faculty and staff through the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement. This marks the fourth consecutive year that a K Votes Civic Engagement Scholar has received the recognition.
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Through her work with K Votes, Gee helped fellow students register to vote, understand key issues and access information about local and state ballot measures.
“K Votes has been a defining piece of my Kalamazoo College experience,” Gee said. “The people I have met and the lessons I have taken away have developed my leadership skills and helped me feel as if one person truly can make a difference. Politics can seem like a scary endeavor to embark on alone, but with the hard work of K Votes participants and leaders as well as our institutional support through the CCE, this type of engagement has become second nature to me. I am so thankful that this opportunity I selected as a first-year student has turned out to be so beneficial for my personal development and that of the campus community.”
The Center for Civic Engagement has supported student voter engagement for nearly 20 years, working with faculty, staff and student leaders to build campuswide initiatives. In recent years, Civic Engagement Scholars have strengthened those efforts by expanding community partnerships and organizing voter education events, advocacy initiatives and outreach to help students cast their ballots.
The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge works with more than 1,000 colleges and universities across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, representing more than 10 million students.
“From hosting registration drives to initiating conversations with classmates in the hallway, our 2026 Student Voting Honor Roll is filled with students who exemplify what it means to be leaders in civic engagement,” said Jen Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. “We are thrilled to celebrate their accomplishments and excited to see their continued impact as we approach this year’s midterm elections.”