Rebecca Heller '05, co-founder and director of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project; Jessica Lawson '04, co-founder of the Mariposa DR Foundation; Chidi Achebe DMS '96, president and CEO of the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center; and Michael Mascari '65, executive director of AHRC Nassau, were honored and spoke about their commitment to social justice at the ceremony.
Students for Africa, the recipient of the student organization award, was founded in 2006 in response to the "then-near invisibility of African affairs on the Dartmouth campus," moderator and Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson said. The group was honored for raising awareness about social justice and development and encouraging open campus dialogue, according to Johnson.
In the past year, Students for Africa organized Mbele Africa, a convention that brought students from various colleges together to devise ways to contribute to African development, according to Johnson.
College President Jim Yong Kim welcomed the honorees and opened the ceremony by stressing the importance of community service and leadership. Kim expressed hope that the awards' recipients would instill in students the "desire to tackle the world's problems."
Heller and Lawson received the "Emerging Leadership" award.
Heller, a lecturer at Yale Law School, was recognized for providing direct legal aid to refugees overseas applying for resettlement. As an undergraduate at the College, Heller started Harvest for the Hungry, which salvaged extra crops in the Upper Valley region for use in local homeless shelters and soup kitchens, according to moderator and Office of Institutional Diveristy and Equity Vice President Evelynn Ellis.
Near the end of the ceremony, Heller spoke about the things she wishes she had known as a student.
"Growing up is difficult because you have to make choices," she said. "Your focus has to narrow. Life is short. You put in what you can."
Lawson, who first visited the Dominican Republic in 2003 before graduating, was recognized for her efforts to combat poverty and her work with at-risk youth in the country. Through her work, she focuses on teaching girls via academic and health education programs.
"Dartmouth taught me how to prepare myself with the skills to recognize opportunity and seize it," Lawson said. "What keeps me passionate is that there is so much more to be done."
Achebe received the "Ongoing Commitment" award for his advocacy in implementing "medicine without borders," according to Ellis. Achebe runs the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, which provides care to underserved groups in the Boston community.
"Always remember to give back to those who don't have as much as you have because, boy, you have a lot," he said to the ceremony's attendees.
Mascari was awarded the Lester B. Granger '18 Award for Lifetime Achievement, which is given to individuals who exhibit "exemplary" lifelong commitment to public service, Ellis said. After graduating, Mascari joined AmeriCorps before working with low-income and disadvantaged communities in New York and Ohio.
As the current director of Long Island's largest non-profit agency, Mascari is committed to assisting children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Ellis said.
"We take great pride in our graduates who have distinguished careers in finance, law, business and medicine," Mascari said. "We should take equal pride in those who have chosen the professions of social work, teaching and community organizing."
Eight additional student organizations that received nominations The Dartmouth, Dartmouth Habitat for Humanity, Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering, GlobeMed at Dartmouth, Mentors Against Violence, Occupy Dartmouth, Outreach Peer Mentors and Project RightChoice also received recognition for their substantial contributions to the Dartmouth community.
Students, alumni, faculty and administrators were encouraged to submit nominations for the awards, and award recipients were determined by the Social Justice Awards Committee, according to moderator Chris O'Connell '13.
O'Connell is a former member The Dartmouth Business Staff.
The Social Justice Awards Committee, which selected the honorees, included Gabrielle Lucke, director of training and educational programs in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity; Christine Crabb '90, assistant director for the Office of Conferences and Special Events; Lauren Frank, events coordinator for the Office of Conferences and Special Events; Linda Martin, administrative assistant for the Dartmouth Medical School Office of Student Affairs; Kurt Nelson, assistant chaplain; Maghan Porter, administrative assistant for the Office of Conferences and Special Events; Molly St. Sauveur, programs assistant for diversity and equal opportunity and affirmative action in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity; and Sarah Sinclair, assistant director for leadership in the Office of Alumni Relations.
