A book club in Harlem, murals on the walls of Greenwich Avenue, as well as innovative ways at tackling food insecurity were just some of the highlights of the RCDS Community Engagement Fellowship Program, which concluded on September 28th at a symposium on the school’s campus. Over 200 people, including the fellows, their parents, faculty members, and many service partners attended the event. Randall Dunn, RCDS’s new headmaster, also made an appearance. 

The Community Engagement Fellowship Program is a selective program enabling RCDS students to partner with local organizations and develop projects that address local needs. Initially launched in 2016 with a $50,000 grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation, the Fellowship Program has evolved into an integral part of RCDS’s public purpose division. Upper School students from all backgrounds apply and participate regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status, engaging in a variety of projects. The fellowship program provides a good opportunity for anyone with a passion for community service while offering real solutions and a helping hand to many of the local communities at no cost. 

The eighteen fellows of this year’s program hail from all grades of the Upper School, with seniors making up close to half of the recipients. For most of the group, the Community Engagement Fellowship Program represents the culmination of a passion for service which they have been pursuing from the beginning of their freshman year, some even earlier. For example, Tyler Moyer ‘23 and Arthur Wang ‘23, who partnered with the Port Chester-based food bank Meals on Main Street, began volunteering with the organization during their sophomore year amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the purpose of the fellowship program seeks to tackle issues in local communities, many of the fellows fulfilled them by drawing upon their talents or skills honed both inside and outside the classroom. Celine Fong ‘24 painted a mural on the walls outside the Greenwich Detectives Department to create awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault. Carter Appleyard ‘23 organized a musical theater show after holding a four-week camp where participants could hone their skills, sharing his love for drama and the performing arts.

As with past years, one of the key takeaways of the program is the opportunity for “self-reflections” through each fellows’ diaries. These personal reflections are an integral and central component of the community service exercise. As Rebecca Drago, the faculty sponsor and Director of Public Purpose at RCDS summarized, “The program is as much a demonstration of the student’s passion for service as an opportunity for self-reflection as he or she seeks to grow as a person in our greater community.”

The diaries are filled with reflections which are both thought-provoking and heartwarming. James Murphy ‘25, whose fellowship put him in direct face-to-face contact with a book club in Harlem concluded by saying, “In the end, my Harlem students taught me more than I taught them.” For Donna Zhang ‘24 and Mina Kim ‘24, teaching third grade piano at the Boys and Girls Club of Stamford made them realize that it was the first time their students encountered “Asian American sisters,” as they described it. “Through this experience, we feel that a bond is established at an early age and the word diversity becomes a real experience rather than lip service,” said the two juniors.