Damaris Neaves ’24 (she/her/ella) has provided this reflection about her work organizing the 2022 Dia de los muertos celebration as a Community-Connected Project Assistant at Middlebury College. Damaris helps lead Juntos and the Compañeros program, which provides English language tutoring to local migrant workers. Find more information about Juntos and Compas on Presence. To learn more about our Community-Connected Project Assistant program, visit our website read or our previous blog post written by two Community-Connected Project Assistants, Student Reflection: Teaching Assistant(*note: since this blog was written, we have renamed our Teaching Assistant to Project Assistant).
The Día de los muertos Celebration and Procession was a collaborative interdepartmental, interdisciplinary, and community effort that aimed to gather as an inclusive Middlebury community to honor our ancestors and departed loved ones through art, song, dance, togetherness, and creativity. This project included many workshops and events that led to the main November 2nd celebration: an hour-long community procession that went all throughout campus and included song, dance, artistic performances, and community altars.
As the Project Based Learning Community-Connected Project Assistant, the role was to aid in the creation, production, and coordination of an immersive campus-wide celebration for all. This meant collaborating with both on and off campus groups interested in participating; curating educational and recreational workshops and events in the weeks prior to the main celebration; being a liaison for students, student organizations and clubs, and external community groups; sourcing local musicians to participate in the Nov. 2nd procession; working closely with external community members and find ways to collaborate; and, ultimately, including the participation and performance of the students in ARDV 0116A The Creative Process instructed by Prof. Olga Sanchez Saltveit within the Nov. 2nd procession.
Throughout this process, we formed many connections with external organizations, communities and individuals. Whether it was leading a fun workshop, catering Mexican food for community members, supplying traditional sweet bread for altars, or organizing a Spanish-language mass for the public, we were able to bridge the gap between the Middlebury College and surrounding community, offering a welcoming space. In all, this celebration came to fruition with the support and participation of 6 Middlebury College academic departments, 6 external community entities, 7 Middlebury College centers and resources, 10 student organizations and clubs, and the attendance of over 200 people in the Nov. 2nd celebration.
At its core, the Día de los muertos Celebration and Procession was a way to engage in reciprocal community connectedness, create new traditions among the college and students, provide a space for the Middlebury College community and beyond to heal from the universal experience of loss, and, fundamentally, celebrate the living and dead.
The following reflection was written by Eliza Marks ’23, the Programming Coordinator for Page One Literacy Project. Page One is a Community Engagement Organization which aims to foster a love for reading and an enthusiasm for learning among elementary school students. Page One was founded in 2000 as part of Middlebury’s bicentennial celebration. Page One has hosted weekly reading programs after school and read-a-thons, created craft kits for the Ilsley Library and Mary Hogan Elementary School, and participated in large one-time events like celebrating Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Here, Eliza shares the excitement of returning to some in-person programming and some of the upcoming opportunities that Page One is hosting. For more information about Page One, you can check out their instagram @MiddPageOne or sign up for their upcoming events at go/pageonesignups.
Over a year since the Page One Literacy Project’s last in-person event in the community, last Tuesday five volunteers went to Mary Hogan Elementary School. Page One Volunteers, including myself, wrapped over a hundred books that will be given to Mary Hogan students in all grades. November 1st marks the beginning of Mary Hogan’s annual read-a-thon, and each kid will get at least one wrapped book! Having newly joined Page One last year, I had never experienced a Page One volunteer event at a school. Although the programming was excellently adjusted to virtual events due to COVID, being able to physically go into the local community and see some of the people we were helping felt extremely rewarding.
Page One followed up the Mary Hogan book wrapping event with a booth at the Middlebury Spooktacular. This is an annual event, hosted by The Better Middlebury Partnership, where local kids walk around town to different locations and trick or treat! Page One received a large donation from Bonnie’s Books of over 250 books to participate in this event. Volunteers, dressed in their best Halloween costumes, handed out a book (and candy!) to each kid that came by. Although it rained all day, around 250 kids engaged in the Spooktacular. The Spooktacular was an awesome way to be able to directly interact with local kids and their families. It was so exciting to see local kids and parents dressed up in fun costumes. The Spooktacular was a gratifying way to take a break from homework and spend time in the community.
Looking forward, the Page One Board has planned three events for Mary Hogan’s read-a-thon. Primarily, we are hosting a Strega Nona-themed virtual read-aloud. Page One has purchased 15 books for Mary Hogan families and fun Strega Nona-themed craft supplies. Volunteers will read Strega Nona to a group of students and lead craft activities. We are also hosting a virtual If You Give A Mouse A Cookie-themed read-aloud, where volunteers will read the story and then make paper bag mouses, paper plate cookies, and mouse ears with the kids! Our final read-a-thon event is a book club-style discussion about the Series of Unfortunate Events. Page One is donating 15 books and will host a conversation and activities related to the book. These events are virtual, but all have an in-person activity and aspect incorporated. This is a super exciting way to combine both in-person and online aspects so that volunteers can participate in whichever modality they are comfortable with, and kids can be more engaged.
One of Page One’s goals is to maximize connections within the community. This fall marks the transition from exclusively virtual to hybrid programming. I am extremely excited to see how volunteers can work with the community to facilitate fun, safe, and rewarding events with local kids.
Mady and friends painting a van for the demo derby at field days sponsored by G Stone motors.
The following reflection has been thoughtfully composed by Madelyn Lander ‘23 who participated in a 2020 summer internship with the Yellow House Community in Middlebury. Madelyn is working to create the Yellow House Community Club, a community engagement organization focused on connecting Middlebury College students to the residents of Yellow House Community through planned collaborative activities and dialogues about disability inclusion. To find information about joining Yellow House Community Club, you can email Madelyn Lander at mlander@middlebury.edu. Updates about upcoming Yellow House Community Club meetings and events can be found in the Center for Community Engagement’s weekly newsletter. Like Mady, if you have an idea or inspiration for a community engagement project, you can reach out to the Center for Community Engagement for support through advising, grant funding, outreach, or community partner connections.
When classes ended this past spring I didn’t have to travel very far after campus closed. I packed everything out of my dorm room and into my car before driving about half a mile from my dorm to a small apartment on Weybridge Street, right next to two college owned houses my friends had lived in the year before. My internship at the Yellow House Community (YHC) right here in Midd started in seven days and I had no idea what to expect.
The first few weeks flew by and I suddenly found myself in July with the first few weeks under my belt. Every day was different, and every week I discovered a new part of our community here in Midd that I had never known existed before. With Yellow House I traveled to farms in the area, volunteering with Yellow House residents to give back to the community which supports us, went on more hikes than I could count, and spent hours in the kitchen making lunches and helping to prep dinners with everyone. The essence of my work at YHC was to assist the daily support staff in the fulfilment of the program’s mission: to provide adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities with safe, residential family households, meaningful vocation, and the support to continue developing skills, interests, and relationships, but as I completed my midsummer reflection for the CCE I realized that it didn’t feel as serious as it sounded when I wrote it out. Essentially what I did everyday was wake up, spend seven hours with people whom I was forming strong and deep friendships with, explore the local area, and go home each night feeling fulfilled.
Through this experience this summer with YHC I learned that community connection is founded in the interdependence we all require to survive. None of us exist in isolation, and for the work we are doing to be meaningful it must honor this truth, whether that connection be within your workspace, or a broader network. Through this experience I not only learned about residential care for adults with disabilities, but also discovered what it feels like to work in a space where everyone wants to see everyone else succeed.
Thank you to everyone at CCE, as well as Yellow House, for this experience which has shaped me and will continue to affect the choices I make about my own future and the type of life I want to live. I hope that I can continue to live my life in connection with others, and inspire others to do the same, casting off the isolating idea of individuality that permeates many college campuses.
During the past few months, many have recognized and lamented the sadness of seniors as they’ve missed out on milestones including their graduation ceremonies, their final seasons of sports, their senior proms, their senior week traditions, and their final few months with friends before heading in different life directions.
Perhaps fewer have thought about COVID-19’s effects on high school juniors. Physical distancing has significantly complicated the college applications process, adding stress and uncertainty to their lives during a time that, for many, is already fraught with both. Understanding this, Middlebury College Access (MiddCAM) mentors have prioritized continued support for their mentees this spring, despite the difficulties of remote communication. Each mentor-mentee pair’s communication has looked a little different: some text, some email, some video chat, and some do a combination of the three. No matter what form they’ve taken, the relationships have provided crucial support to the high school students as they’ve navigated canceled tests and canceled college visits.
The mentees are not the only ones benefiting from the relationships, of course. Mentors are also finding comfort in their remote connections with their mentees. Eleanor Pontikes ‘22.5, a MiddCAM mentor, reflects: “my weekly FaceTimes with my mentee Anna have not only been grounding, but also fill me with hope for the future.” Even with time apart, having a set time every week to meet has sustained their relationships with their mentees: “[it] has been something that both of us look forward to each week and helps keep us connected to other people during these difficult times,” writes MiddCAM mentor Abbey Tinsley ‘23.
MiddCAM Mentors video-calling there mentees, from left to right: Eleanor Pontikes ‘22.5, Jack Summersby, and Abbey Tinsley ‘23.
Despite the difficulties and challenges that remote activities entail, the mentors are positive about the future thanks to modern technology. As MiddCAM mentor Jake Summersby states: “While posing its own unique and new challenges, remote activities including work and school have challenged our abilities to adapt to new circumstances. Mentorship is no different, and while nevertheless a different experience, modern technology brings us closer together.”
Jack credits websites like Naviance and Khan Academy, which “help bring the college process online, while video conferencing apps supplement the lack of physical proximity.” Despite the unknowns, Jack says, he and his mentee “are still confident in a bright future ahead.” Indeed, not only are the mentors confident about the future due to technology, they also credit their mentees for having a positive and dedicated mindset: “Anna, like the rest of the MiddCAM mentees, is so hardworking, dedicated, and compassionate—it has been such an amazing program to be a part of,” states Eleanor.
Thank you to both mentors and mentees for continuing to inspire each other during these very difficult times!
This week, we are celebrating National AmeriCorps Week by highlighting recent Middlebury graduates currently serving as AmeriCorps members in Addison County!
AmeriCorps is “a network of national service programs, made up of three primary programs that each take a different approach to improving lives and fostering civic engagement.” Members, including some of our recent Middlebury graduates, commit to serving the community by engaging in youth and mentoring, fighting poverty, increasing academic achievement, and more.
The state of Vermont produces the 3rd highest rate of AmeriCorps members per capita! We are proud of our alumni who contribute to that ranking and the role that their community engagement experiences as students played in their decisions to serve as AmeriCorps members in Addison County.
Read below to learn more about our first AmeriCorps member spotlight, Ellie Dickerson ‘19, and her trajectory from student to CCE’s AmeriCorps VISTA member.
Ellie Dickerson ’19, CCE AmeriCorps VISTA Member, Youth & Mentoring
Where did you grow up, and what did you study at Middlebury?
I grew up in a little North Central Nebraska town called Ainsworth. I studied International & Global Studies with a focus on Latin America, and spent my Junior Spring in Montevideo, Uruguay. During my time at Middlebury, I was involved in Community Friends and the Privilege & Poverty (P&P) Academic Cluster.
How did community engagement shape your time as a student at Middlebury?
I became a Community Friend during the second semester of my first year. My engagement with the community deepened considerably during the summer after my first year, when I was a Shepherd Intern with Charter House Coalition. I also became very involved in Middlebury’s Memorial Baptist and began leading the 7th-12th grade youth group during my Senior year.
These experiences allowed me to form relationships with community members, learn about community needs first-hand, and feel like a member of the larger Middlebury community. They offered me a break from the constant demands of campus, and they helped me gain perspective on those demands. Getting out into the community helped me to remember that I am only one part of a much bigger world, and that connecting with and serving others is so much more important than getting good grades.
Ellie Dickerson ’19 engages in an interactive exercise during the January 17 workshop Learning on Your Feet: Literacy, Transferable Skills, and Community Building, a collaboration between Page One Literacy Project and Courageous Stage, with funding from the New Perennials Project.
How did these experience deepen your understandings of civic engagement and service?
My internship with Charter House, combined with weekly CCE reflections and P&P academic coursework, allowed me to reflect deeply on what it means to “serve,” especially from a place of privilege. I analyzed and questioned my actions and thoughts in an effort to unpack my own biases. Was I saving, or was I serving? Was I projecting, or was I relating? The “real-world” piece combined with the academic research and classroom discussions complicated my understanding of service and helped me to grow as a person.
I analyzed and questioned my actions and thoughts in an effort to unpack my own biases. Was I saving, or was I serving? Was I projecting, or was I relating?
Ellie Dickerson ’19, AmeriCorps Member
What led you to decide to serve as an AmeriCorps member in the CCE?
My involvement with the CCE played such a huge role in my experience at Middlebury. I wanted to be able to support students in their connections with the community just like CCE staff and faculty partners had supported me. My love for Vermont also influenced my decision. Vermonters care about vulnerable populations, as is evidenced by the hundreds of non-profits in Addison County alone. I know that if I have an idea for making change, I will have a supportive community behind me. My husband and his family all live in Addison County, which has further connected me with the community.
I know that if I have an idea for making change, I will have a supportive community behind me.
Ellie Dickerson ’19, AmeriCorps Member
How has living as a non-student in Addison County been?
Being here as a non-student has honestly been lovely. So far I’ve found that without the stresses of student life I have been able to take advantage of all that Vermont has to offer. I get some of the perks of student life (such as access to the fitness center and the library) without the drawbacks. Beautiful.
Have you given any thought to what comes next?
At this point, I am still unsure of my next steps, but I would love to continue to serve in the area if possible. I have so much Vermont pride. I have also formed relationships with people here, from Charter House Coalition to my Church Family to my husband and in-laws, that make each day meaningful and root me to this place.
Stay tuned for more upcoming blog posts about our other Middlebury alumni AmeriCorps members!
Through the CCE’s Service Cluster Board (SCB) trainings, Civic Leadership Certificate (CLC) cohort, and civic skill building Winter Term Workshop (WTW), students in Middlebury College’s 17 student service organizations develop their leadership knowledge and capacities. These experiences complement their community-based experiences, helping them to become effective leaders and change agents during their time at Midd and beyond.
During monthly SCB trainings, two student leaders from each organization learn resources for organizational and leadership development, such as how to manage conflict or practice inclusive member recruitment. CLC cohort members amplify this learning with additional reflections and workshops that allow them to connect with other passionate leaders, design cohesion across their service and learning experiences, and focus on social-issue-specific areas of their choosing.
Here are two examples of the kinds of trainings we’ve supported in 2020 so far!
Generating Civic Skill Building Workshops As the first Winter Term Workshop (WTW) of its kind, Generating Civic Skill Building Workshops equipped students with tools to become effective facilitators of skill-building workshops for their peers. Five students participated in this workshop, each with connections to one or many Service Cluster Board organizations and several as members of the Civic Leadership Certificate cohort: Zeke Hodkin ’21 (MiddVote), Sophia Johnson ’22 (WildMidd and CLC), Viv Merril ‘22.5 (WildMidd and CLC), Gardner Olson ’22 (Community Friends and CLC), and Chloe Zinn ’22 (DREAM).
The CLC cohort reflects during an initial meeting and workshop outside of Axinn at the beginning of the Fall Semester.
During the first three weeks of J-Term, these five students worked together to select civic skills that intrigued them and then co-designed interactive workshops around them to build that skill with others. With facilitation from CCE Assistant Director Kailee Brickner-McDonald and CCE AmeriCorps VISTA member Ellie Dickerson ’19, participants dove into resources on their selected civic skills and learned principles of designing quality curricula and practices of effective workshop facilitation.
Participants then had the opportunity to facilitate their workshops to leaders of all Service Cluster Board organizations, such as Brother to Brother, Butch’s Team, Juntos, MAlt, and NOM. Their three, 40-minute long workshops addressed Leadership Styles, Project Management, and Coordinated Leadership, and as part of the SCB training in the final week of J-Term. SCB members attending the workshops appreciated the “change of pace” in having student-led presentations, finding it both exciting and refreshing.
Sophia Johnson ’22 and Viv Merril ‘22.5 facilitate a Leadership Styles for Collaboration for SCB members during the last week of J-Term.
Students were able to acquire useful skills not just by attending the workshops but by being a part of the process of creating such workshops. As Kailee Brickner-McDonald explains, “Two of the best ways to deepen understanding of a skill is to practice it and teach it to others. Between the Winter Term Workshop on workshop facilitation and the facilitation experience itself on a particular skillset, our participants got to do both.”
Participating in the Winter Term Workshop helped students to recognize their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to build on their personal leadership strengths and styles while also gaining skills and confidence in areas they didn’t feel so strong in, such as facilitation. One participant stated: “My comfort guiding a workshop (especially one with my peers present) grew exponentially through this WTW and final facilitation exercise… [the CCE staff] encouraged us to think with so much advance attention to necessary items, time constraints, and approach to the materials. I feel like my skill-set for learning and teaching grew widely in this WTW.”
My comfort guiding a workshop (especially one with my peers present) grew exponentially through this WTW and final facilitation exercise.
Generating Civic Skill Building Workshops Participant
The experience taught DREAM Co-Chair Chloe Zinn ’22 her that empathy and intention are just as important as quality curricula in creating effective educational presentations. She stated: “I learned that it takes effort and care to truly get through to an audience, and even more challenging workshops can be facilitated well with intention and genuine empathy.”
I learned that it takes effort and care to truly get through to an audience, and even more challenging workshops can be facilitated well with intention and genuine empathy.”
Chloe Zinn ’22, DREAM Student Leader and Generating Civic Skill Building Workshops Participant
Social Issue Panels to Dive Deeper
In addition to building students’ civic leadership skills, the Service Cluster Board and Civic Leadership Certificate programs also enhance students’ ability to support their community partners and connect their experiential learning with their academic understanding of social issues. Sixty seven organization leaders and members came together on Wednesday, February 26 to learn from two sets of community partner, alumni, and faculty panelists who discussed the topics: Engaging with Youth and Mentoring and Accessing Addison County’s Resources. Consisting of three experts each, the panels sought to deepen students’ understanding of social issues and local contexts to better support their personal and/or organizational work in the community. Students submitted their questions in advance, leading to interactive and insightful conversations in both panels. Ellie Dickerson ’19 (CCE AmeriCorps VISTA) developed and coordinated the event.
Engaging with Youth & Mentoring panelists included Laura Basili, a Middlebury College Visiting Faculty member a clinical psychologist whose therapeutic work focuses on children and adolescents living with adversity, illness, and loss; Mel Hurlburt, DREAM Program Director; and Elizabeth Burrows, an Addison Central School District counselor with more than 25 years of experience in the field. The panelists addressed critical questions about working with youth who have had adverse childhood experiences, engaging in meaningful conversations about difficult topics, and encouraging healthy behaviors without being overbearing, among others.
Panelists answer students’ questions during the Engaging with Youth & Mentoring panel on February 26 in Axinn.
Students will be able to apply the wisdom and resources from the panel in their work with community youth, strengthening relationships and enhancing the many socio-emotional, cognitive, and identity development benefits of mentorship. Speaking to those benefits, the panelists served as source of inspiration and reflection for students, reminding them why they became mentors in the first place. In the words of one student: “I loved having them here…it reminded me that what I’m doing is important and refreshed the patience I have with my mentee.”
I loved having [the panelists] here…it reminded me that what I’m doing is important and refreshed the patience I have with my mentee.”
Engaging with Youth & Mentoring Panel Particpant
Conversation in the Accessing Addison County’s Resources panel was similarly robust. Leading the panel were HOPE’s Local Food Access Coordinator Lily Bradburn, WomenSafe Services Director Christina Grier, and recent Midd graduate Luna Shen ‘19.5, a current AmeriCorps member at John Graham Shelter in Vergennes. Bringing a range of experiences and expertise, these three panelists offered many insights into Addison County’s most pressing social issues. The panelists’ broad overview of local issues and support networks was especially helpful for the many students who work closely with one or two local organizations but aren’t necessarily aware of other issues or the many ways community partners work together to address them. The panel also allowed for a deep dive into specific issues, such as the affordable housing crisis and the negative effects of state policies on homelessness. One participant noted that they “didn’t realize how transportation…impacted the people that live in Addison County. It’s a really large place geographically, and can be difficult if you don’t have shelter or means of transportation.”
It makes me excited that the SCB helps all student organizations deepen their connection with community, which is the reason I decided to work with the CCE in the first place!
Getting out of the Middlebury campus bubble and into the community is one of the primary reasons students get involved in CCE’s programs. As one student remarked, “It makes me excited that the SCB helps all student organizations deepen their connection with the community, which is the reason I decided to work with the CCE in the first place!” The community partner panels complemented their service experiences, deepening their knowledge and ability to engage meaningfully in their respective organizations.
Future SCB and CLC trainings this spring will include Budgeting as Storytelling on March 16th, and Leadership Transitions in April. Thanks to all who deepen their community engagement experiences by participating in our training programs!
Through the CCE’s Service Cluster Board (SCB) trainings, Civic Leadership Certificate (CLC) cohort, and civic skill building Winter Term Workshop (WTW), students in Middlebury College’s 17 student service organizations develop their leadership knowledge and capacities. These experiences complement their community-based experiences, helping them to become effective leaders and change agents during their time at Midd and beyond.
During monthly SCB trainings, two student leaders from each organization learn resources for organizational and leadership development, such as how to manage conflict or practice inclusive member recruitment. CLC cohort members amplify this learning with additional reflections and workshops that allow them to connect with other passionate leaders, design cohesion across their service and learning experiences, and focus on social-issue-specific areas of their choosing.
Here are two examples of the kinds of trainings we’ve supported in 2020 so far!
Generating Civic Skill Building Workshops As the first Winter Term Workshop (WTW) of its kind, Generating Civic Skill Building Workshops equipped students with tools to become effective facilitators of skill-building workshops for their peers. Five students participated in this workshop, each with connections to one or many Service Cluster Board organizations and several as members of the Civic Leadership Certificate cohort: Zeke Hodkin ’21 (MiddVote), Sophia Johnson ’22 (WildMidd and CLC), Viv Merril ‘22.5 (WildMidd and CLC), Gardner Olson ’22 (Community Friends and CLC), and Chloe Zinn ’22 (DREAM).
The CLC cohort reflects during an initial meeting and workshop outside of Axinn at the beginning of the Fall Semester.
During the first three weeks of J-Term, these five students worked together to select civic skills that intrigued them and then co-designed interactive workshops around them to build that skill with others. With facilitation from CCE Assistant Director Kailee Brickner-McDonald and CCE AmeriCorps VISTA member Ellie Dickerson ’19, participants dove into resources on their selected civic skills and learned principles of designing quality curricula and practices of effective workshop facilitation.
Participants then had the opportunity to facilitate their workshops to leaders of all Service Cluster Board organizations, such as Brother to Brother, Butch’s Team, Juntos, MAlt, and NOM. Their three, 40-minute long workshops addressed Leadership Styles, Project Management, and Coordinated Leadership as part of the SCB training in the final week of J-Term. SCB members attending the workshops appreciated the “change of pace” in having student-led presentations, finding it both exciting and refreshing.
Sophia Johnson ’22 and Viv Merril ‘22.5 facilitate a Leadership Styles for Collaboration for SCB members during the last week of J-Term.
Students were able to acquire useful skills not just by attending the workshops but by being a part of the process of creating such workshops. As Kailee Brickner-McDonald explains, “Two of the best ways to deepen understanding of a skill is to practice it and teach it to others. Between the Winter Term Workshop on workshop facilitation and the facilitation experience itself on a particular skillset, our participants got to do both.”
Participating in the Winter Term Workshop helped students to recognize their strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to build on their personal leadership strengths and styles while also gaining skills and confidence in areas they didn’t feel so strong in, such as facilitation. One participant stated: “My comfort guiding a workshop (especially one with my peers present) grew exponentially through this WTW and final facilitation exercise… [the CCE staff] encouraged us to think with so much advance attention to necessary items, time constraints, and approach to the materials. I feel like my skill-set for learning and teaching grew widely in this WTW.”
My comfort guiding a workshop (especially one with my peers present) grew exponentially through this WTW and final facilitation exercise.
Generating Civic Skill Building Workshops Participant
The experience taught DREAM Co-Chair Chloe Zinn ’22 that empathy and intention are just as important as quality curricula in creating effective educational presentations. She stated: “I learned that it takes effort and care to truly get through to an audience, and even more challenging workshops can be facilitated well with intention and genuine empathy.”
I learned that it takes effort and care to truly get through to an audience, and even more challenging workshops can be facilitated well with intention and genuine empathy.”
Chloe Zinn ’22, DREAM Student Leader and Generating Civic Skill Building Workshops Participant
Social Issue Panels to Dive Deeper
In addition to building students’ civic leadership skills, the Service Cluster Board and Civic Leadership Certificate programs also enhance students’ ability to support their community partners and connect their experiential learning with their academic understanding of social issues. Sixty-seven organization leaders and members came together on Wednesday, February 26 to learn from two sets of community partner, alumni, and faculty panelists who discussed the topics: Engaging with Youth and Mentoring and Accessing Addison County’s Resources. Consisting of three experts each, the panels sought to deepen students’ understanding of social issues and local contexts to better support their personal and/or organizational work in the community. Students submitted their questions in advance, leading to interactive and insightful conversations in both panels. Ellie Dickerson ’19 (CCE AmeriCorps VISTA) developed and coordinated the event.
Engaging with Youth & Mentoring panelists included Laura Basili, a Middlebury College Visiting Faculty member and clinical psychologist whose therapeutic work focuses on children and adolescents living with adversity, illness, and loss; Mel Hurlburt, DREAM Program Director; and Elizabeth Burrows, an Addison Central School District counselor with more than 25 years of experience in the field. The panelists addressed critical questions about working with youth who have had adverse childhood experiences, engaging in meaningful conversations about difficult topics, and encouraging healthy behaviors without being overbearing, among others.
Panelists answer students’ questions during the Engaging with Youth & Mentoring panel on February 26 in Axinn.
Students will be able to apply the wisdom and resources from the panel in their work with community youth, strengthening relationships and enhancing the many socio-emotional, cognitive, and identity development benefits of mentorship. Speaking to those benefits, the panelists served as source of inspiration and reflection for students, reminding them why they became mentors in the first place. In the words of one student: “I loved having them here…it reminded me that what I’m doing is important and refreshed the patience I have with my mentee.”
I loved having [the panelists] here…it reminded me that what I’m doing is important and refreshed the patience I have with my mentee.”
Engaging with Youth & Mentoring Panel Particpant
Conversation in the Accessing Addison County’s Resources panel was similarly robust. Leading the panel were HOPE’s Local Food Access Coordinator Lily Bradburn, WomenSafe Services Director Christina Grier, and recent Midd graduate Luna Shen ‘19.5, a current AmeriCorps member at John Graham Shelter in Vergennes. Bringing a range of experiences and expertise, these three panelists offered many insights into Addison County’s most pressing social issues. The panelists’ broad overview of local issues and support networks was especially helpful for the many students who work closely with one or two local organizations but aren’t necessarily aware of other issues or the many ways community partners work together to address them. The panel also allowed for a deep dive into specific issues, such as the affordable housing crisis and the negative effects of state policies on homelessness. One participant noted that they “didn’t realize how transportation…impacted the people that live in Addison County. It’s a really large place geographically, and can be difficult if you don’t have shelter or means of transportation.”
It makes me excited that the SCB helps all student organizations deepen their connection with community, which is the reason I decided to work with the CCE in the first place!
Getting out of the Middlebury campus bubble and into the community is one of the primary reasons students get involved in CCE’s programs. As one student remarked, “It makes me excited that the SCB helps all student organizations deepen their connection with the community, which is the reason I decided to work with the CCE in the first place!” The community partner panels complemented their service experiences, deepening their knowledge and ability to engage meaningfully in their respective organizations.
Future SCB and CLC trainings this spring will include Budgeting as Storytelling on March 16th, and Leadership Transitions in April. Thanks to all who deepen their community engagement experiences by participating in our training programs!
