The Civic Action
Project (CAP)

It took them from a book concept into reality. I am a hands-on learner so I liked that this took me out of my computer and into the real world.

I learned how easy it truly was to connect with my government. I didn't realize how we interact with our government on a daily basis.

They made me engage more than I likely would have just memorizing things for tests.

It helped bring our readings to life, and not just reading from a textbook. The CAP activities helped connect real life experience to the textbook readings.

I was surprised to learn how easy it was to apply these concepts. I never would've even given some things a second thought if I wasn't actively looking for topics.

The CAP assignments have changed my view on civic engagement because it requires me to look into how the government works on specific things. Reading chapters in a book isn't as engaging as the CAP assignments are.

Civic engagement is not just a theory found in books; it's about directly observing, participating in, and caring about the decisions that affect the community you live in.

Before our CAP activities, I hadn't thought about civic engagement being possible from our own home.

Before taking this class, I was what SmartBooks considered a Voting Specialist — I only participated in the voting part of politics. This experience has completely changed my view of civic engagement! Never in a million years would I have taken the time to see how everything connected.

Before this class I thought voting was the only way to participate politically, but through my CAP activities I realized how often I interact with the government without realizing.

I have been in Texas for ten years, but I have never thought that city council meetings would exist. This semester's CAP activities completely changed my view of civic engagement. I have started following these meetings online and I am planning to attend in the future.

Through my CAP activities, I realized there are a lot more accessible ways to engage, especially at the local level.

Before this semester, I believed political participation mainly meant voting during major elections. The most accessible and impactful form of participation for me was attending a local city council meeting and submitting a public comment. I had never interacted directly with local government before this class.

It's the first time I've ever been able to remember something I've learned in school. I usually remember just enough to pass a test.

How accessible getting involved in local government and my community is. Before, it seemed far off and confusing. Now I see it is regular people like me who choose to reach out in different ways.

The most surprising thing I learned was that information is truly at the palm of our hands — it's just a matter of looking and dismissing the desire to turn to ignorance.

Even the low effort activities showed such great insight into how government is always working even if we don't see it.

They helped me see concepts play out in real time, making me understand concepts more deeply, not just at surface level.

The most surprising thing I learned through the CAP activities was how much impact small actions can have — just listening, helping, or showing up can really make a difference in someone's day.