Noah Cassil ’27 received the inaugural 2025 Campus Vote Project Distinguished Democracy Fellow Award for the state of Pennsylvania in recognition of his “exceptional dedication, leadership and sustained commitment to civic engagement at Susquehanna University.”
During the 2024 election cycle, Cassil bridged the gap between civic responsibility and action by mobilizing a student-led initiative that registered over 400 new voters at Susquehanna University. These efforts included leading non-partisan voter registration tabling efforts across campus and visiting classrooms to explain the voting process and help students register. To reach a larger number of voters, Cassil initiated and recorded public service announcements for Susquehanna’s campus radio station, WQSU.
Over the course of the fall 2025 semester, and ahead of Pennsylvania’s November Supreme Court and county elections, Cassil continued his campus voter registration and civic engagement efforts. In total, Cassil visited 18 classes and extracurricular clubs, including 15 first-year seminars, and recorded new public service announcements about Pennsylvania’s statewide and Snyder County elections. He also worked directly with Devin Rhoads, Snyder County’s elections director, to help ensure students’ voter registration forms and mail-in ballots were collected and received on time. These efforts resulted in nearly 100 new student voter registrations, as well as the registration of a professor new to the Susquehanna campus.
“The most meaningful aspect of this experience was the conversations I had with students about my efforts on campus. Students began asking me how they could get involved and help with voter registration themselves,” Cassil said. “This growing interest signals something special: a strengthening culture of civic engagement that I hope will persist on campus long after I graduate.”
Efforts continue overseas
Cassil’s work has been in his role as a Democracy Fellow for the Fair Elections Center’s Campus Vote Project, through which his commitment to civic participation continues to expand. This semester, he is studying abroad at Maastricht University in the Netherlands while continuing to serve as a Campus Vote Project Fellow. Countries across the European Union consistently experience higher voter turnout than the United States.
“I hope to study the electoral systems, norms and strategies that contribute to increased civic engagement and bring those lessons home,” he said. “By applying what I learn internationally to voter participation efforts in the U.S., I aim to find and implement tenable solutions to make voting and civic participation more accessible, for students and the population at large.”
Cassil was nominated for the award by Rhoads, University President Jonathan Green and Associate Professor of Political Science Rolfe Peterson.
“His efforts extend well beyond fulfilling program expectations — he embodies what it means to be an engaged citizen and a campus leader,” Peterson said. “What truly distinguishes Noah is his passion for service and his belief that every student’s voice matters.”
Cassil, of Silver Spring, Maryland, is a double major in political science and public policy. He is also in Susquehanna’s Honors program and served as the Honors Council president in the 2024-25 academic year.
Other Susquehanna students who have served as CVP Democracy Fellows include Meryl Czeponis ’25, James Gossert ’27 and Caleb Tyksinski ’24.
