Civic engagement of young people has evolved in Nicaragua as its political environment has changed. There is a marked difference between youth involvement in Nicaragua during the Sandinista Revolution from 1979 through the early 1980s, when it was a cultural norm for young people to serve in solidarity with the poor, and today, when universities must push students to connect and learn with disadvantaged communities. Interviews about service learning, community-based research and other programs in marginalized, local communities and the broader Nicaraguan society were conducted at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) with students, faculty, staff, and community members to explore what this evolving dynamic of social justice engagement looks like at a Jesuit University. On the campus of the UCA, the change in youth interest in civic involvement is clear, though the possible reasons for this change vary.