Reynolds College Blog

Paws to the Polls wins MSEED grant

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Missouri State University’s Paws to the Polls (PAWS) student organization has been awarded an Experiential Education for Student Development (MSEED) grant from the university’s strategic planning funding.

PAWS will use the MSEED grant during the Fall 2026 semester to conduct research on civic engagement and community involvement at Missouri State. Although the project will occur mostly on the university’s Springfield campus, other off-campus sites include the Greene County Election Center and area high schools. The group also plans to work with Leadership Springfield and the Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC). NAC oversees all neighborhood associations in Springfield.

With the grant, PAWS will coordinate focus groups, surveys, workshops, a voting fair, voter education materials distribution and voter registration events. Later this fall, the students will compile and analyze the data they collect from these efforts.

Between 15-25 PAWS members and other students will participate in the program, according to Dr. Suzanne Walker-Pacheco, faculty advisor to the group. Additionally, another 120-150 student volunteers will eventually participate in the broader program. In all, Walker-Pacheco estimates, the project will reach anywhere from 3,000-6,000 students.

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Paws to the Polls supports Informed Voter Coalition’s “Meet the Electeds” event

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Continuing its efforts to encourage local civic education and engagement, the Informed Voter Coalition (IVC) hosted a “Meet the Electeds” event on the Missouri State campus April 11. Missouri State’s Paws to the Polls students assisted with the event and visited with the officials.

Springfield and Greene County officials attending the event were County Clerk Shane Shoeller, County Assessor Brent Johnson, Presiding County Commissioner Bob Dixon, County Commissioner Rusty MacLachlan and Springfield Public School Systems Board Member Shurita Thomas-Tate.

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Paws to the Polls marks five-year milestone

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Missouri State University’s campus voting initiative, Paws to the Polls, celebrates five years of service to the campus and Springfield communities this year.

The initiative’s faculty coordinator, Dr. Suzanne Walker-Pacheco, worked with 14 students to form Paws to the Polls – frequently shortened to “Paws” – in the spring of 2020. Recently, she completed its five-year report and was pleased with the findings.

“We’ve done a lot. We’re making an impact,” she said.

In its first five years, Paws accomplished several of its original goals. These include a First Year Foundations curriculum component, a non-partisan booklet on voting information, an annual voting fair on campus, and coordinating candidate panels and forums. They also traveled to the Missouri state capitol building in Jefferson City, where they met with legislators and advocated for voting access.

Walker-Pacheco admits she wasn’t sure at first exactly how the initiative would take shape.

“It was the sort of thing I wanted to do, something related to engaging more students in voting,” she explained. “I had no idea what that might have been, but I knew that this was a wonderful opportunity to get information, especially nonpartisan information, out to students and a number of other people.”

Now, Paws not only serves the campus and local communities, it has become a model for state and national institutions. In 2024, Paws members presented at two national conventions, including the League of Women Voters. Walker-Pacheco also serves as section editor for Civic and Voter Engagement for the eJournal of Public Affairs, which helps disseminate campus voter information more broadly.

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Spring semester keeps Paws to the Polls busy

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The fall election season may be over, but that doesn’t mean Paws to the Polls (PTTP) slows down. Missouri State University’s student civics organization continued its education and outreach activities throughout the Spring 2025 semester.

Yellow and red image of clownAfter enjoying a team building activity of “Kahoot” trivia in late January, the group got back to work in February, said Dr. Suzanne Walker-Pacheco, professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology and PTTP’s faculty advisor.

First, PTTP members attended a Grupo Latinoamericano information meeting on Feb. 15, where they provided voter information. Later that month, seven members visited four local high schools to continue their voter registration drive. PTTP partners on this event every semester with the League of Women Voters.

Also in February, the group updated its five-year report and sponsored its first Paws to the Polls sticker contest. Students submitted artwork for stickers that Paws members could give away during events.

“The sticker contest was designed to engage students and to encourage voting by giving away stickers at our events,” Walker-Pacheco said.

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Paws to the Polls continues busy spring

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Missouri State University’s Paws to the Polls (PTTP) organization has stayed busy with its voter education and engagement activities, as the election year has seen an increase in campaigns and voter interest.

Campus voter fair a big success

On Feb. 15, PTTP welcomed Representative Melanie Stinnett (R) of District 133 to meet with them on campus. The group discussed voting access and how legislators can work together across the aisle in Jefferson City.

The meeting was a precursor to PTTP’s voting fair, which it hosted on the Missouri State campus March 5 to bring attention to the April municipal election.

Over 400 students and 16 campus offices and organizations participated in the fair to demonstrate how they engage with the campus and the larger community.

Food, fun and voting facts

Young man standing with two mascots
Student Government Association cabinet member Jace Rather with Big Dill and Bill. Photo credit: Oliver Hart.

Joining the fair were the League of Women Voters, the Informed Voter Coalition and Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller.

The League and the County Clerk’s office registered students to vote and answered voting-related questions.

Schoeller and his team also brought voting equipment so students could use the machines and become acquainted with the voting process.

Along with providing important voter information, PTTP ensured there was plenty of food and fun for participants.

Pickleman’s Gourmet Café provided free cookies, while PTTP provided pizza. Meanwhile, participants enjoyed a photo booth where they could get their pictures taken with Boomer the Bear, Schoolhouse Rock’s Bill and Pickleman’s Big Dill.

Attendees also played voting and trivia games for prizes and decorated their PTTP shirts at a tie-dye booth.

PTTP will host another voter fair in October ahead of the 2024 general election. [Read more…] about Paws to the Polls continues busy spring