OLYMPIA, Wash. – Alauna Carstens (Jr.) from The Evergreen State College women's cross country and women's track and field teams received the 2026 Student Civic Leadership Award earlier this spring. Carstens and fellow Evergreen student Maria Atristain were chosen for the award by Evergreen President John Carmichael from a group of nominees.

Each college and university in the Washington Campus Coalition for the Public Good selects up two students for the Student Civic Leadership Award each year. Governor Bob Ferguson presented the awards at the Museum of Flight in Seattle on April 17.

"The Student Civic Leadership Award reminded me of a national ceremony for athletics (such as All-American)," Carstens said. "I think it's a unique thing to experience two ceremonies like this. I feel like this award was a true statement of balancing the student-athlete life and combining multiple pathways together, as Evergreen always talks about. I'm thankful to have received this award alongside Maria and to represent Evergreen. Maria not only won the President's Student Civic Leadership Award, but also the Governor's Award out of multiple big schools.

"I want to continue to be in spaces like this with inspiring individuals," Carstens added. "I love that this award helped me learn about what others are doing in the community. Great things can happen when we all come together and just share."

The Student Civic Leadership Award recognizes outstanding student leaders who are dedicated to making a difference on their campuses and in their communities. Last year, Evergreen men's wrestler Jeramias Sandoval was chosen for one of the 2025 awards.

"Alauna is an incredibly talented and hard-working student-athlete, and Peer Health Educator. She balances a fierce training and work ethic with kindness and humility in serving her fellow students," said Evergreen Director of Student Wellness, Recreation, and Athletics Elizabeth McHugh. "It's been incredibly rewarding to see the impact she has had on the health of our campus."

Carstens, from nearby Shelton, Washington, is a highly competitive athlete with a total of eight NAIA All-American awards in cross country, marathon, indoor track and outdoor track. She has won two NAIA Marathon championships, claiming the titles in 2024 and 2025. She was named the NAIA West Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2025 and was chosen as the Women's Collegiate Sports Star of the Year at the 2025 Thurston County Sports Awards.

She won the Cascade Collegiate Conference cross country title in the fall of 2025. She has received a total of four All-Conference awards. Carstens has been chosen Academic All-District by the College Sports Communications and received NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.

Carstens has put forth a strong commitment to community service. She has participated in a variety of ways with the Shelton Promise Program, which assists Shelton School District graduates who want to attend Evergreen and helps them once they are on campus. Carstens has been involved as a Shelton Promise tutor and has helped new students as a Shelton Promise study session leader and peer editor. She has worked as a Peer Health Educator at Student Wellness Services on campus. She has contributed to the TRIO program, helping first-year students receive basic needs resources.

"This year, I have gotten the chance to be a tutor and mentor with the Shelton Promise Program," Carstens commented. "Shelton Promise is a place-based scholarship to improve college access from Shelton School District graduates from my hometown. The program currently supports two cohort groups. Through this work, I have developed confidence in sharing my voice in public spaces, such as at the State Senate education hearing, and I have helped peers find their voices and build resilience through assignments, applying to college, and navigating life after high school.

"The most meaningful lesson I have learned is the importance of consistently showing up," Carstens asserted. "Sometimes, doing this work, you'll be helping 50 students at a time, and at other times, one student might show up, but it might be a life-changing conversation for them. It could be a chance to uplift them in a way they may not have had before, or a key moment to help clarify anything and share opportunities. I've seen the way one conversation can spark a whole line of positive things, so I will continue to always take the time to sit down, talk, and be intentional in every conversation."

In addition, Carstens was a keynote speaker at The Evergreen State College Foundation's fall celebration in Shelton in 2025. She recently led a session about "Rising after the fire: Lessons from Fireweed" during the 2026 Evergreen Equity Symposium.

"This year's Equity Symposium centered its theme on fire as a force that can ignite and sustain us," Evergreen Associate Dean of Equity and Belonging Cholee Gladney commented. "Alauna's presentation centered on fireweed as a 'first responder plant … often the first plant to return after fires.' Her focus on the plant as a regenerator of the land and of resilience and renewal connected participants to the idea of fire as a destructive force that brings nutrition in its wake, encouraging us to think of difficulties as fuel for community growth and support. Her calming and positive presence encourages our community members to consider ways we can utilize internal and external resources in our collective equity and well-being work.

"Alauna was warm and welcoming and did an excellent job grounding everyone with a meditation and holding space for all types of learners by providing materials and activities and welcoming questions and commentary from everyone," Gladney said. "Alauna is an excellent presenter and teacher."

Carstens prepared a tremendous session for the Equity Symposium.

"I got permission to share part of the Tend, Gather, and Grow curriculum to connect a big group to wellness. I believe I had 22 people in attendance for the workshop," Carstens said. "It was nice to share about wellness and incorporate hands-on activities. Since fireweed stabilizes burned areas and creates a safe environment for new growth after a fire, I saw it as a powerful way to open up conversations around how we can be stabilizers for each other in the same way fireweed is for other plants, and how community well-being can take root.

"I designed a fireweed care-mapping activity inspired by the Tend, Gather, and Grow curriculum that participants could reflect on and share with the group," Carstens added. "Participants also made a tea blend using fireweed leaves, which are packed with nutrients, that they could sip while reflecting on the mapping activity."

In addition to the Equity Symposium Fireweed session, Carstens has facilitated several well-attended workshops in Evergreen's Social Justice Center this year in her role as a Peer Health Educator.

"Alauna is a shining example of a Greener using their unique gifts and talents to generously support our community!" Gladney noted.

Carstens plans to become a teacher in health education. Her area of interest at Evergreen is "Community-Based Learning:  Psychology, Communication, and Civic Engagement."

"I feel everything is interconnected," Carstens noted. "My academic focus in on health education and community engagement, and that directly supports my two jobs on campus as a Shelton Promise tutor/mentor and a Peer Health Educator in Student Wellness Services. My involvement in athletics and being a yoga club coordinator also shape my values in being goal-oriented, team-focused, and leading a healthy lifestyle.

"I think my experiences in each of those areas have helped me flow in and out of spaces, and each connection strengthens the other," Carstens continued. "I always love seeing people from different parts of my life come together at an event I'm leading or helping. I think each of the areas I am involved in helps ground the others and keeps me well-rounded."

Photo Credits:  Alauna Carstens action photo in track and field by Katie Burnett; Alauna Carstens and Evergreen President John Carmichael by Ellen Shortt Sanchez; Alauna Carstens at Equity Symposium session by The Evergreen State College; Alauna Carstens at Pear Health Educator table by Lauren Ryan.

Photo Below:  Evergreen had a supportive group at the 2026 Student Civic Leadership Awards. Photo by Ellen Shortt Sanchez.