Before an audience of about 90 people, Jocelyn Powelson ’14 recounted her experience volunteering in Lesotho — a country she described as encumbered by high HIV rates and poverty. Powelson, in addition to five other panelists, shared their experiences with service Wednesday night at a forum on social justice hosted by the Tucker Foundation.
Experiences like realizing a young girl had HIV, Powelson said, made her more cognizant of social ills in the world.
“She had been born with HIV and would spend the rest of her life battling against the stigma and other health issues that came with that disease,” she said. “This is also social injustice.”
Dylan Krouse ’16, another panelist, spoke about her time volunteering with the DREAM program, which matches student mentors with local children who live in subsidized housing communities.
Krouse enjoyed leaving the “Dartmouth bubble,” adding that Dartmouth students may often forget how fortunate they really are.
Like Krouse, panelist Alec Ring ’15 spent time in the Upper Valley beyond the College, participating in Tucker’s Growing Change program, which engages volunteers with the Upper Valley’s agricultural community.
He said Tucker ranks among the College’s most welcoming and fulfilling places because of its focus on meaningful conversations and general kindness.
Panelist Aminata Traore ’15 described her work volunteering with a Boston non-profit organization that provides pro-bono services to individuals seeking asylum. She called the experience, facilitated through Dartmouth Partners in Community Service, educational and fulfilling.
Jordan Keehn ’15 spoke about Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth, a program for underprivileged high school students, and Language in Motion, which seeks to promote cross-cultural understanding by bringing Dartmouth students into middle and high school classrooms.
An alternative spring break program in Nicaragua, panelist Molly Thornton ’14 said, benefited both her and the people she was helping — a concept she called “mutual liberation.”
Mutual liberation impacts the campus climate as well, Thornton said.
“[Dartmouth students] struggle to understand that if one person is facing discrimination in the classroom or on the Green, that’s affecting us,” she said.
After the panel, students reflected on service, justice and spirituality in smaller discussion groups.
Tucker director of services and educational programs Helen Damon-Moore, who helped organize the event, said the panel and ensuing discussion aimed to celebrate student accomplishments and invite reflection on Tucker’s mission goals.
Doug Phipps ’17, who attended the event, said that despite the panelists’ diverse experiences, they all “came down to the same core concepts,” adding that personal stories made social justice issues more relatable.
Co-organizer Emily Dollar ’14 said she hoped that following the panelists’ stories and discussion, audience members would think about how community service relates to social justice in a broad context. She added that social justice, while hard to define, deserves recognition.
Damon-Moore said Tucker staff and student directors recommended the panelists.
“People are very enthusiastic about the work they’ve done,” she said. “They’ve got the skills to tell their stories — they’re happy to tell their stories.”
Phipps is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
