Meet the Civic Scholars
This past Fall, Civic Scholar Nicole Kuruszko interviewed some fellow third year Civic Scholars about their experiences with the program. Here are some of their thoughts…
Brianne Flynn
How did you become a Civic Scholar?
My senior year I was really interested in why people participate in community service. I researched this idea and did a presentation on it. I used my own experiences as a volunteer, and I interviewed other philanthropists and community activists. Asking these questions about why people serve others brought more meaning to my prior and future acts of service. I’ve been a volunteer swim coach, adult tutor at Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, and an active member of my high school’s community service club. I applied to become a Civic Scholar to continue pursuing my love of volunteering at a higher level.
Tell us about your past and current community involvement as a Civic Scholar.
As a first-year Civic Scholar I spent the majority of my time volunteering at Hospitality Link. This was a place for homeless and poor people to spend the day in a safe, warm, environment while the soup kitchen and homeless shelter were closed. Hospitality Link provided the people with career counseling services, coffee and snacks. I used my ability to speak Spanish to talk with the Hispanic patrons. I taught them basic English and translated “job wanted” adds. Currently I am participating in an internship at the New Jersey Highlands Coalition. I’m hoping this experience will be rewarding in helping protect our New Jersey natural environment and also supplement my major in the field of Environmental Science and Sustainability.
Chris Deraney
How did you become a Civic Scholar?
When I was a senior in high school, I saw information on the Drew website about the civic scholar program. I did a lot of community service in high school; I was a peer minister at school and also at my church. I taught self defense at no charge to promote women’s self defense and anti-bullying. The civic scholars kind of seemed like a fit for someone like me so I applied and the rest is history.
Tell us about your past and current community involvement as a Civic Scholar.
My freshman year, I worked with the volunteer resource center and we did events like raising money for mosquito nets to prevent malaria in Africa. I also worked with TransOptions, a not for profit organization to promote safe, green transportation. Lastly, I worked with the other Civic Scholars on the spring activity which promoted animal welfare. As a sophomore, I have been working with an organization called Neighborhood House and have started my own after school self defense program in Morristown, New Jersey.
What has been the most rewarding part of being in the program?
The most rewarding part would probably have to be all the opportunities we get to help out. There’s just so much to do and the program makes it so easy for us to get involved.
What kinds of leadership opportunities have you pursued as a Civic Scholar?
Running my own self defense program.
How do your personal interests/ area of study relate to or influence your civic engagement?
Martial arts is a passion of mine that I pursue competitively. I am a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and Hap Ki Do, and also am a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu grappling champion. This influences my civic engagement because it makes me an effective self defense teacher since I have a lot of experience in that field.
Kara Pennino
Tell us about your past and current community involvement as a Civic Scholar.
Growing up, I was consistently involved with volunteer work in communities at a domestic and international level. In high school, I started joining my dad on medical missions to Belize with the non-profit organization that he personally started, called InterVol. I found myself having various responsibilities and obligations as a part of the team. During one trip, for example, I had to collect educational DVDs from the United States and bring them to a children’s ward in Belmopan, Belize. As a junior, I took a course in my high school on Hospice, mainly focusing on end of life care. I found a passion in the topic and, using my dad and my own connections from previous non-profit medical missions, I assisted my teacher in furthering the hospice program at my high school. My teacher and I actually travelled down to Belize together where we promoted the importance of end of life care in an attempt to alter the harsh stigmas attached to the elderly in that region of the world. My commitment with InterVol, and specifically Belize, is something that continues to influence my volunteer work even outside of high school. Since becoming a college student, I have achieved the honor of becoming a mentor for high school students on more medical missions in Belize. Last year, during my freshman year at Drew, I led a team of high school juniors and seniors in creating workshops for middle school students in Belize; we organized lectures and information sessions on multiple topics, from handling peer pressure to AIDS prevention.
Currently, I am a volunteer intern at Homeless Solutions, a local non-profit organization that supplies environmentally friendly and energy-efficient housing for less fortunate families in the community. Being a Civic Scholar has given me the opportunity to make connections that I otherwise would not have the ability to make with such ease. My volunteer work affiliated with Drew and the Civic Scholar program, along with my current internship, have both fueled passion for volunteering as well as supported and furthered my interest and understanding of my ESS major.
What has been the most rewarding part of being in the program?
The most rewarding part of being in the Civic Scholar program is the opportunity to be able to expand not only my own volunteer options but also to introduce volunteer options and resources to interested peers. Meeting like-minded people right off the bat as a freshman really helped broaden my goals and aspirations for being a Civic Scholar at Drew. I love being able to show my peers what they can do to help the non-profit organizations that I’m personally affiliated with, while also getting the chance to learn more about their experiences and how I can get involved too. Specifically, the Civic Scholar program has given me the opportunity to have very rewarding volunteering experiences that I otherwise may not have known about. For example, as a freshman I got to volunteer with an after school program for elementary school children and I even got the chance to create a book club for them in hopes of raising the literacy rate of the community.
What kinds of leadership opportunities have your pursued as a Civic Scholar?
As a second year Civic Scholar, I’ve become a mentor to the first year students involved with the program. This opportunity has given me the chance to polish my leadership and mentoring skills on a more day-to-day basis, which I’m sure will later improve my future volunteer work in places like Belize. Last spring, the Civic Scholars and I formed the Real Drew Zoo as a spring campus activity. I took on responsibilities during that time and, while it wasn’t necessarily volunteer work, the experience definitely helped build on my leadership strengths. The Real Drew Zoo gave me the opportunity to, in a way, lead my peers that are uninvolved with the Civic Scholar program by supplying them with a fun afternoon event while also informing them about animal welfare and volunteer work available for them to do.
Civic Scholar Projects
Civic Scholars Walk A Mile In Her Shoes to Benefit Jersey Battered Women’s Service
On March 27, 2011, the Drew campus witnessed a highly unusual sight when about 50 men participated in an organized march around the Drew campus in bright red high-heeled shoes. Despite the struggle to walk in the heels, the men completed the march enthusiastically while cheered on by their Drew peers. This unusual sight had a very specific purpose: to raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence against women.
This event, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, was planned by Drew’s first-year Civic Scholars, for their 2011 Spring Project. Co-sponsored by the Drew Feminist Union, it benefitted Jersey Battered Women’s Services (JBWS).
JBWS is one of the Center for Civic Engagement’s long-standing community partners. Founded 35 years ago to offer assistance to New Jersey women, it includes a 24 hour help line, a safe house, counseling, and interventions for abusive partners. JBWS believes that reaching out and educating the community is a key way to help prevent domestic violence, as well as to raise awareness about the realities that face those struggling with domestic violence. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes events are a vehicle to help raise such awareness.
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is an international organization founded in 2001. To date, tens of thousands of men have participated in Walk a Mile in Her Shoes events all over the world. The organization takes a very serious subject and raises much needed awareness by having people participate in a fun event. The Walk a Mile in Her Shoes website proclaims that the event “is protest and performance art, with political, personal and existential messages.” The image of men wearing high heeled shoes, while entertaining, also sends a powerful message of solidarity to victims of domestic violence and women in general.
Drew’s Civic Scholars chose this event as their Spring Project because it presented the opportunity to raise awareness and educate students and members of the community about domestic violence in a way that would be fun and engaging. The Drew lacrosse and rugby teams participated in the march, as did several male staff members and university leaders, including the President of the University, Robert Weisbuch. Beyond raising significant funds donated to JBWS, the Civic Scholars that organized the event learned many valuable lessons that strengthened their leadership, team work, organizational and marketing skills.