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American International College - George Morgan III
At American International College, George Morgan III helped facilitate a job shadow day, where students from Springfield's Central High School spent the morning learning what AIC employees do. George, Volunteer Coordinator at AIC, set up opportunities for the high school students to shadow AIC employees in several locations including the admissions office, registrar's office, library, radio station, public relations office, business office and student activities.  The objectives for the job shadowing experience is to demonstrate the connection between academics and careers, introduce the students to the requirements of professions and industries to better prepare them for the workforce, to demonstrate to students how English, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science are used everyday at work and show the students how lifelong learning is important and relevant to continued success in the workplace.

Amherst College - Jamie Lyon
At the Amherst College Center for Community Engagement, Jamie Lyon serves as a liaison to the Amherst Regional Public Schools. In order to improve the relationship between these two institutions, Jamie works with Amherst College students and staff, as well as faculty and administrators from the Amherst Schools to strengthen two existing tutor/mentor partnership programs: the Pipeline Project and the Students 2 Students program. Jamie helps organize meetings and foster effective channels of communication between the schools and the college, has helped developed handbooks and contracts for volunteer tutors, and is also currently helping to plan for a month long summer program for the youth in the Pipeline Project.

Bristol Community College - Kat Tildes
At Bristol Community College, Kat Tildes is working to increase student and faculty awareness of service-learning. She trains students, in a variety of disciplines, on what service-learning is and how they can be involved at BCC and in their community. Kat is helping create and maintain the Be Enriched After-School Enrichment Program at Tansey Elementary School, where BCC students teach elementary students in art, dance, languages, and computers.  Kat has been very involved in the Dollars for Scholars "From Dream to Reality: Grassroots Empowerment for Student Success" conference, as well as the planning for February's African American History Month events at BCC.

Bunker Hill Community College - Meghan Callaghan
At Bunker Hill Community College, Meghan Callaghan serves as a liaison between the Office of Community Engagement and faculty and staff across campus. Meghan provides resources to faculty members incorporating service learning into their courses.  She also collects feedback and provides continual improvement to the office, most recently by reconstructing reporting tools and organizing a more dynamic structure for interacting with students and faculty.

Five Colleges, Inc. - Vilay Senthep
At Five Colleges, Inc. Vilay Senthep is planning programs that prepare students for their community work. The curriculums for these programs build upon materials created by previous MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA members as well as suggestions from community partners. Partnering with a graduate student in UMass' Social Justice Education program, she co-taught a class on how students' social identity and background affect their work in communities. Although the pilot class was small, it was a supportive and safe community where students were able to help each other identify how social justice theories fit into their community work and other aspects of their lives, thereby moving together towards personal growth. She hopes that in the future, this class can be taught by graduate students to meet their practicum requirement.

Five Colleges, Inc. - Allison Reid
Allison Reid works with the Five Colleges, Inc. (Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College and University of Massachusetts, Amherst) to build capacity for community based learning programs and collaborations. In particular, she developed an online map of partnering organizations to aid in planning for student transportation to CBL sites. She is also working with the Five Colleges to develop a risk management program for CBL programs.

Harvard University - Dave Slichter
At Harvard University, Dave Slichter helps the Phillips Brooks House Association provide better trainings to student leaders by developing strategies for testing long-term retention from trainings. He's testing the first models now and hoping to finalize an easy-to-use template for trainers in the near future.  Ideally, improved training will result in a more productive and more satisfying service experience for the over 1,500 student volunteers at Harvard. 

Holyoke Community College - T- Petti
As the Community Resource Liaison at HCC, T- Petti works to meet various aspects of student need with off-campus resources. While some of T-'s projects have focused on universal needs such as food, housing, and healthcare, other projects have zoomed in on the specific needs of various groups. One of those projects is the development of a new series called "TransCampus"-- a community education tool for transgender issues. Complete with events, workshops, a six week course for faculty and staff, TransCampus moves beyond a basic introduction to transgender terminology. In an effort to increase awareness of transgender issues, TransCampus also explores models of gender identity, helps mediate the specific challenges of transgender staff and students, creates a safe and more inclusive campus climate, and explores the ways in which various aspects of identity such as race, class, and gender intersect to form our opinions and shape society. T- hopes that the TransCampus series will eventually spread to colleges across the country.

Lasell College - Jessica Hill
At the Center for Community-Based Learning at Lasell College, Jessica Hill has been supporting an early college awareness program called Awareness, Confidence, Education, and Success (ACES). The goal of ACES is to help fifth and sixth grade students at the Boston Renaissance Charter School become more aware of the opportunities a college education offers, to teach them about the availability of financial aid and scholarships, and to demonstrate the importance of planning ahead and developing good habits for future success. Jessica's energies have focused on recruiting and training Lasell College students to lead the many different components of the ACES program, including Lasell College campus visits, college and career workshops, and a Parents' Night for Boston Renaissance parents and students.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Justen Cantan
At MIT, Justen Cantan has been charged with creating and establishing a student service learning corps. After a successful semester, he will assist in coordinating efforts to shift the corps to a student-lead model. This will ensure the goal of the MIT Public Service Center's Service Learning Program to expand outreach through student involvement and leadership. In addition, he will research ways in which the corps can be sustainable upon his end of service.

Middlesex Community College - Lindsay Vick
Lindsay Vick is currently linking the Multicultural Achievement Peer Program (MAPP) with the Center for Community Engagement at Middlesex Community College. MAPP's mission is to provide positive experiences for multicultural students, and the program acts as a vehicle through which the voice of multicultural students can be heard in higher education. She serves as the site supervisor for service-learning students who choose to participate in MAPP as peer mentors. Lindsay has expanded the involvement of non-curricular community college students in MAPP, and she has witnessed the promising results that a student peer mentor relationship can have.

Mount Wachusett Community College - Sam Cesario
In her second year as a MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA, Samantha Cesario is serving at Mt. Wachusett Community College in Gardner, MA.  As the Community Scholars MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA, she works to mentor a group of 11 students who are interning with 11 different non-profits in the North Central MA region. By supplying trainings, group meetings, team building activities and opportunities for community service, she has worked to supplement the experiences these students are gaining in the field. As the Community Scholars program is in its pilot year, she has also worked vigorously on improvements to the program, such as evaluation materials, acting as a liaison between faculty and Community Scholars students and implementing more dynamic tools and trainings to the program. Sam is also planning on bringing a tangy new Alternative Spring Break program to campus in the form of one or two day services projects in the local community to answer local needs while still conforming to the commuter student's schedule.

Northeastern University - Sarah Kaplan
At Northeastern University, Sarah Kaplan coordinated "Agents of Change: Students as Civic Leaders," a weekend retreat in which 20 students and staff came together to learn and share how they could best be engaged in their community. Sarah worked with staff and students at the Center of Community Service to craft and implement a weekend that emphasized the importance of recognizing your passions, understanding your community, situational leadership, active citizenship, action planning, and reflection. Networking and asset mapping amongst the students was emphasized and encouraged. This self-selected group of exceptionally diverse participants continues involvement with Sarah and the Center of Community Service.

Northern Essex Community College - Jaime Ormont
At Northern Essex Community College, Jaime Ormont helped facilitate the Newburyport Urban Renewal Tree Project in conjunction with the Newburyport Tree Committee. Students from six different classes were organized to work in the town of Newburyport surveying the health and quality of the trees in the area. Each student recorded data that was later analyzed for different information within the separate classes. The project culminated in a community presentation of the students' findings in Newburyport at an empty store converted for the event. More than 300 people filtered through the exhibit.

North Shore Community College - Ankana Barua
Ankana Barua, with NSCC's Diversity Leadership Council, initiated the "Faces of NSCC" photography contest promoting cultural awareness and solidarity amongst NSCC students, faculty, staff and administrators. She is the co-advisor and mentor to the NSCC Multi-Cultural Society, which is organizing a forum with international experts on environmental conservation and sustainability. The forum, "Social Responsibility for Sustainable Environment", will be held in mid-March.

Roxbury Community College - Nicole McKoy
Nicole McKoy is serving her third year as a MACC AmeriCorps*VISTA. While serving a second year as the Community Partnerships Program Coordinator at Roxbury Community College, she has developed a Service-Learning Internship Course between Roxbury Community College and Boston Centers for Youth & Families called Mentoring Girls with Boston Centers for Youth & Families Community Centers, Orchard Gardens and Vine Street. She is developing Resource Data, creating Service-Learning, Volunteering Worksheet, Surveys, and developing leadership workshops with her students at RCC. She also started a Community Service Club for students to stay actively involved with their community. In addition, Nicole continues to provide support to the students and faculty to bridge the gaps between the college and the community. She also continues to help Roxbury Community College develop new sustainable partnerships.

School of the Museum of Fine Arts - Andrew Barco
At the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Andrew Barco introduced civic engagement as a practice already integrated into the school culture, and the art discipline as a whole. He has put together a web-site highlighting student civic engagement projects www.smfa.edu/IACE , has been organizing a forum of student leaders, and has been programming activities that situate civic engagement within the art context (such as sending mail-art to soldiers in Iraq). As the keystone project for this initiative, he has been working with a colleague to put together an Alternative Spring Break trip with a focus on building a collaborative relationship between SMFA and New Orleans artists.

Simmons College - Megan Marincic
In her second year at the Scott/Ross Center for Community Service at Simmons College, Megan Marincic concentrates on strengthening the partnership between Simmons and the YMCA of Greater Boston International Learning Center (ILC). Last semester, Megan helped facilitate a service learning project connecting sociology students with new Bostonians. The students studied migration on the macro and the micro levels. Megan matched these sociology students with immigrants from the Symphony housing complex and the ILC to collect the stories of these new Bostonians, helping them understand migration at the micro level. To learn more about this class, please see the Boston Globe article on "Global position: Students, immigrants paired".

Springfield College - Kevin Cusack
At Springfield College, Kevin Cusack is co-teaching a service learning course, Humanics Seminar, with his supervisor. Through direct service opportunities, leadership development activities, and other learning experiences, students gain a greater understanding of themselves, their community and the world around them.  Students will discuss issues relating to social justice and learn how they can confront these issues as leaders in service.

Suffolk University - Katherine Kirklin
At the S.O.U.L.S. Community Service & Service Learning Center, Katherine Kirklin works with Neighborhood Action Inc., a longstanding partner of Suffolk, which provides an array of services to meet the physical, medical, and social needs of those living in and transitioning out of homelessness in the Boston area. Building on many years of successful collaboration, Katherine is working to strengthen the partnership between Suffolk and NAI by coordinating service learning projects at NAI in eight classes this spring, including a graduate seminar that will focus on writing a partnership vision and action plan. Katherine is also working to improve the orientation and training programs for the service learning students so that they can make meaningful contributions to the work of NAI and draw effectively on their service experiences to enhance their academic work.

Tufts University - Amy Carraux
At the Lincoln Filene Center for Community Partnerships in the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, Amy Carraux works to strengthen mutually beneficial relationships between Tufts faculty, staff and student and the four host communities: Medford, Somerville, Boston Chinatown and the Mystic River Watershed. Amy's primary responsibilities are assisting with major events such as the annual Social Policy Forum, advising and serving as a resource to students and student organizations, and hosting two task forces to improve reciprocal partnerships.

University of Massachusetts Boston - Bashir Martin
At UMass Boston, Bashir Martin produced a report assessing the performance of the University Of Massachusetts Boston-Harbor Point Apartment Company Agreement, which includes recommendations to build on current successes and address lingering challenges. Bashir participated in several trainings involving informing students of the importance of civic engagement in the university as a means to cultivate their leadership potential, address societal problems in both the short term and long term, and provide empowerment in their learning.

University of Massachusetts Lowell - Andrea Lee
At UMass Lowell, Andrea Lee is working with the Youth Network, a sub-committee of the Lawrence Mayor's Health Task Force. This group evolved from the Lawrence Teen Provider Summit in 2006. The group serves as an opportunity to bring together UML faculty/staff and organizations in the Lawrence community to discuss issues that affect youth in Lawrence. Andrea and other members are currently working on developing the content for a website that will provide resources for youth, parents, and service providers. Members of the group will also be presenting on youth issues at the 2008 Health Summit in Lawrence.

Wentworth Institute of Technology - Jared Clayton Brown
At Wentworth's Center for Community and Learning Partnerships, Jared Clayton Brown's works with students from nearby John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, to develop a dual enrollment course that allowed students from O'Bryant to earn college credit for taking a technical communications class at Wentworth. He has also worked with Wentworth's Admissions Office to help develop a mentoring program in partnership with the O'Bryant called Networking Excelling Experiencing Teaching (NEXT). Jared is currently working on the final stages of development for a tutoring program that will allow O'Bryant students to visit Wentworth twice a week for assistance with pre-calculus mathematics.

Wheaton College - Katherine Jennings
At Wheaton College, Katherine Jennings has been actively working on expanding service programs for students. She coordinates Season of Service, a new program where the Freshmen Class participate in a half-day service project with their First Year Seminar Class. Katherine organized 25 service sites with 11 different community partners. Over the course of six weekends, 32 First Year Seminar courses totaling 440 students served in the surrounding community. She continues to remain connected with these community partners by creating new volunteer programs and preparing for future Season of Service assignments.

Worcester State College - Carrie Rice
At Worcester State College, Carrie Rice researches the connection between service-learning in the first year seminars and student retention. She ran a pilot program with two classes in the fall of 2007 and continues her work this spring, with the help of one of the Center for Service Learning and Civic Engagement's faculty in residence members. Together, the two will work on composing an article containing both a literature review and the results of the pilot program.

Alternative Spring Break Programs
Massachusetts Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA members across the state work to institutionalize Alternative Break programming. By providing opportunities for students to serve during their winter and spring breaks, members develop occasions for students to serve nation-wide and make connections between that service and service in their own communities.

Babson College - Josh Stevenson
At Babson College, Josh Stevenson is coordinating two Alternate Spring Break trips to San Salvador, El Salvador and Thibodaux, Louisiana. 29 students, faculty and staff will provide assistance for Habitat for Humanity at these two locations. Successful fundraising projects include the Gillette Stadium project, Cruickshank Race for Shelter and a 50/50 raffle at campus sporting events which will help assist with the cost of the trips. Josh will serve as the team leader on the Louisiana trip. The team will be working on a development of new construction on Bon Jovi Blvd, specifically for people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  They will be working along side other Habitat members and the future homeowners, and are all excited for this opportunity.

Endicott College - Hilary Douglas
At Endicott College, Hilary Douglas focuses her time on the Alternative Spring Break trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. In March, eighteen Endicott students will dedicate their time, energy and enthusiasm to helping those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. In preparation for their trip, Hilary has been working with the students on several successful fundraising projects ranging from a 5K Fun Run to late night food delivery to ensure that every student selected for the trip is financially able to attend and participate in this historic relief effort.

Lesley University - Sarah Cantrell
Sarah Cantrell is currently helping plan Lesley University's upcoming Alternative Spring Break trips. She is helping oversee trip logistics, develop student leadership, and emphasize the community component of the trips. Both trips have an affordable housing focus - in Asheville, NC the group will work with Mountain Housing Opportunities and in Spartanburg, SC the group will work with Habitat for Humanity. Sarah hopes the trips will inspire students to engage in their communities - both in the Carolinas and upon their return to Lesley.

University of Massachusetts Amherst - Jess Rentsch
Jessica Rentsch works with the UMass Alliance for Community Transformation (UACT), training student facilitators who will teach a semester long course on Grassroots Community Development and lead alternative spring break trips to the eastern shore of Virginia. Jess works with these students to examine structural inequality in the United States, systems of power, privilege and oppression and the power of collective organizing to create social change. Jess also works to support the development of intentional anti-oppression curriculum and workshops within UACT and in collaboration with other service learning programs at UMass.

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