In an era where athletic influence reaches far beyond the scoreboard, Penn State senior Nick Dawkins is redefining what it means to be a student-athlete. Honored with the 2024 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy and named captain of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, Dawkins stands as a civic force—not just a football star. His work aligns seamlessly with the ethos behind the Engaged Athlete Fellowship, a program designed to empower athletes as agents of democratic renewal.
Through the Dawkins Family Foundation, Nick has built a dynamic ecosystem of service:
- Youth sports camps that create safe, affirming spaces for personal growth
- The Empower Code Academy, introducing underserved youth to technology and leadership
- Annual backpack drives in Pennsylvania that provide essential tools for academic success
- Scholarship initiatives that open doors for students who need a boost, not a barrier
His guiding philosophy: “We’re combating wasted potential,” Dawkins says. “There’s nothing more tragic than brilliance without opportunity.”
Whether chairing Penn State’s DEI committee, raising funds for rare disease research, or packing backpacks for kids in Allentown, Dawkins proves that student-athletes can be cultural catalysts. And as his coach, James Franklin, quipped, “He’s going to end up being the governor of Pennsylvania”—a line that feels less like a joke and more like a forecast.
In spotlighting Dawkins, The Fulcrum celebrates a new model of leadership—one that blends athletic excellence with civic imagination.
Across the nation, a wave of civic-minded student-athletes stepped forward this past year through the 2024–25 Engaged Athlete Fellowship, using their platforms to spark meaningful change. Both the fellowship and the Dawkins Foundation explore civic strategies and build lasting coalitions grounded in mentorship, grassroots action, and a commitment to systemic renewal.
Now entering its third year, the Engaged Athlete Fellowship is a cornerstone program of The Team, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to integrating civic engagement into college athletics. Guided by its mission to “develop teammates, inspire leaders, empower citizens,” The Team equips student-athletes with the tools and support to transform vision into action. It operates as a fiscally sponsored project of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, which also serves as the parent organization of The Fulcrum.
From August 2024 through June 2025, a diverse cohort of student-athletes—from HBCUs, major universities like Harvard, Duke, and Vanderbilt, and smaller colleges nationwide—participated in intensive leadership training. Representing 16 states and 15 athletic conferences, these fellows received personalized coaching, professional mentorship, civic leadership curriculum, and stipends supporting their community-focused projects.
Toward an Athlete Fellowship Playbook
The Nick Dawkins Foundation and the Engaged Athlete Fellowship aren’t just incubators—they’re catalysts. As these initiatives grow, the idea of a Fellowship Playbook could be amplified and scaled to become a national living guide of athlete-driven strategies for civic impact. It could include case studies offering civic skill-building modules and showcase scalable outreach templates capable of driving national coalition-building.
In essence, the Playbook wouldn’t just tell stories, it would teach them. And with over 500,000 student-athletes nationwide, it might be the blueprint that helps every campus turn leadership into democratic momentum.
The stories of Nick Dawkins and the Engaged Athlete Fellowship invite readers to consider how collegiate sports must evolve in the NIL era. Both programs flip the narrative from transactional to transformational—showing that student-athletes aren’t just performers. They’re architects of change.
David Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
