Written By: Georgina Murphy

In order to celebrate and showcase RCDS students’ summers of hardwork, dedication, and community service, RCDS hosted their annual Community Engagement Fellowship Symposium on September 30. The Community Engagement Fellowship (CEF), which was founded eleven years ago, started as an E.E. Ford Grant, given to RCDS in order for students to try and create sustainable and effective projects with a local organization or non-profit. This past summer there were seventeen sophomores, juniors and seniors, who participated in the fellowship. Their projects ranged from designing AI assistants for the elderly to help educate them on digital literacy to providing bilingual dance classes that highlight influential dancers of color.

In order to partake in the Community Engagement Fellowship, students had to go through an extensive application and interview process in order for their project to be selected. After their proposal was accepted, students then went through eight to ten hours of academic seminars to help prepare them for their service work. These seminars included learning how to approach volunteer work, learning what is actually helpful for non-profit organizations (as it can be quite a bit of work bringing in a new volunteer), and practicing making professional phone calls and emails. Ms. Drago, the Director of Public Purpose and co-director of the CEF program, says, “I am always so moved by the students and their decision to spend their summers doing work in the community, and this event is especially important and special in allowing them to celebrate that and spread it to a wider audience in hopes that it will inspire others to get involved and do good work in their community.”

Every year, there are also three student keynote speakers who provide a deeper explanation of their projects at the symposium. This year, the speakers were: Eda Buyuk ‘27, Selena Zhang ‘26, and Lincoln Feng ‘26. Buyuk talked about her work with Feeding Westchester, where she organized food drives at local supermarkets, fundraised, and created care packages. She organized twelve food drives and gave out approximately 2,540 meals. Buyuk also said she was inspired by the community she worked with because “Oftentimes, people who did not even have enough food for themselves, would come and do their best to donate as much as they could.” Zhang partnered with Don Bosco Community Center by organizing a curriculum to teach 3rd-5th graders about different cultures while promoting literacy through cultural folktales. Zhang said that she taught the students about four different countries each week, and she realized that hands-on learning games, and fun activities were the best way to engage students rather than lectures and slideshows. Finally, in his keynote address, Feng talked about his work with Project Ready, an organization that works towards preparing children with learning disabilities for possible career opportunities and further education. Feng says that he first led workshops to help train his volunteers that would work alongside him. After they finished the training session, Feng and his fellow volunteers led activities for children with autism, conducting activities such as weeding, baking, and other prevocational skills. After the formal presentation, the audience is encouraged to visit the students’ booths to learn in depth about their individual projects.

This year’s Community Engagement Fellowship truly highlighted RCDS students’ commitment and compassion to giving back to underserved communities through meaningful and long-lasting service projects that will continue to make a beneficial impact for years to come.