School may have been out of session this summer, but ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ies kept busy with a variety of research efforts and internships. 

Students worked in various capacities at companies and organizations around the world this summer. 126 students completed internships with support from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ Center for Purposeful Work. Several students found themselves in New York City for the season, doing everything from shadowing bridal consultants to learning about private markets to researching climate change effects in the Mediterranean bioregion.

In addition to our Purposeful Work interns, many other students filled their time between semesters with fascinating work and research. Below, get to know 11 students and learn about their summer gigs:

Angelina Amastal ’27

Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Internship: Legal assistant with Gorayeb and Associates, a personal injury law firm where Jay Gorayeb ’20 is an attorney and Nolan Burgos ’15 is a paralegal, through the Center for Purposeful Work

Location: New York City

Academic path: Politics and philosophy double major

What made the summer memorable: “Working directly with injured workers, many of whom were immigrants or spoke little English, showed me how law can be a tool for empowerment.�

An interesting internship fact: Amastal conducted interviews with clients in both English and Spanish, along with fellow intern Elizabeth Gallegos Rodriguez ’26.

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: “This experience deepened my understanding of how legal systems affect real lives. It connected closely with my coursework in politics and law and society, and it allowed me to realize that law is something that I want to continue to study moving forward.â€�

What purposeful work means to me: “Purposeful work, for me, now means advocating for people who often feel voiceless in the legal system.�

Isaiah Brown ’27

Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Internship: Intern at Resilient Cities Catalyst, through the Center for Purposeful Work

Location: New York City

Academic path: Politics major, math minor

What made the summer memorable: After an end-of-summer presentation in front of RCC staff, “I was greeted with a positive response and appreciation for my work. That recognition strengthened my motivation to keep pursuing work that matters.�

An interesting internship fact: Though he was based in New York City, Brown’s summer work stretched across the globe; he worked on resilience plans for communities in the California and Mediterranean bioregions.

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: “I found a lot of similarities throughout this internship with my academic interests. Going forward, I believe this experience will help inform my studies in order to position myself best for my professional pursuits.â€�

What purposeful work means to me: “I believe purpose can be found in any area. However, for me, I find purposeful work to be working with social issues or climate issues and improving lives. RCC’s work does just that — creating more resilient cities is highly purposeful work.â€�

Joy Huang ’27

Hometown: Great Neck, N.Y.

Internship: Intern at Inner Child, a home decor company where Michelle Pham ’15 is founder and designer, through the Center for Purposeful Work

Location: New York City

Academic path: Economics major, minors in digital and computational studies, Asian studies, and math

What made the summer memorable: Her first week on the job, Huang traveled to represent Inner Child at a market in upstate New York. “Talking to customers, explaining the story behind our products, handling transactions even though the wifi was really, really spotty — it was all new to me, but I quickly found my rhythm. That experience taught me that sometimes the best way to grow is to show up, even when you don’t feel 100 percent ready.â€�

An interesting internship fact: “I really appreciated how Inner Child’s brand draws inspiration from cross-cultural and artisanal traditions, which made me think more deeply about how cultural storytelling influences branding and consumer connections.â€�

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: “This summer experience has provided me with a richer appreciation for how my academic interests can complement each other in meaningful, interdisciplinary ways — exactly the kind of integrative thinking that the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ education encourages.â€�

What purposeful work means to me: “I find purpose in work that blends creativity, technology, and business together.�

Hannah Kothari ’26

Hometown: Houston, Texas

Internship: Communications intern at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works

Location: Bath, Maine

Academic path: Politics and religious studies double major

What made the summer memorable: Kothari was part of a team that escorted Janet Wilson Taylor, daughter of the late General Louis H. Wilson Jr., during her visit to see the construction of a new naval ship named in her father’s honor. “Witnessing Taylor’s reaction to a ship bearing her late father’s name was a powerful and emotional experience. I had the opportunity to photograph her as she stepped aboard and touched the ship for the first time.”

An interesting internship fact: Kothari helped with event planning, content creation, press releases, and more during her time at BIW, a shipyard that specializes in creating ships for the U.S. Navy. 

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: “This summer has been the perfect balance of creating content/media and engaging in civilian service, and it has furthered my love for and interest in communications.â€�

What purposeful work means to me: “The people who serve our nation are sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, parents, friends, and more. This aspect of my internship — recognizing those who serve and the legacies of those who have served — is a powerful reminder of the human element in our work. We don’t just build ships; we build homes for sailors that honor those that came before them.�

Sebenele Lukhele ’26

Hometown: Manzini, Eswatini

Internship: Research intern (INBRE SURF Fellow) at MDI Biological Laboratory

Location: Bar Harbor, Maine

Academic path: Biochemistry major

What made the summer memorable: When conducting research, Lukhele explained, “you might spend a good amount of time only to find out the hypothesis you had was unable to be accepted. For me, this research’s most memorable moment was when we found something that was actually of interest to us.â€�

An interesting internship fact: Lukhele spent the summer investigating the pluripotency of stem cells — their ability to divide and differentiate into any cell type — in small worms called C. elegans. “This research really applies to our daily lives because insight on this promises the potential to solve a lot of real world issues — for example, serious situations like people lacking organ donors. If we understand how stem cells can be able to divide into any cell, we can even make our own organs to give to those people who need the donors.�

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: Lukhele’s internship “made me more open-minded, which is a skill that I think is very necessary to bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. Most of the classes involve collaboration and working with people of diverse cultures and abilities, which is something that is very important to have as a researcher.â€� 

What purposeful work means to me: Thanks in part to his internship, Lukhele hopes to work in public health, with the goal of making healthcare systems more equitable and accessible. “I’m a person who loves biological sciences, and to me, something that’s purposeful work is applying those biological sciences into changing the lives of people in need.â€�

Jahmir Primer ’26

Hometown: West Hempstead, N.Y.

Internship: Summer program aide at Harlem Children’s Zone, through the Center for Purposeful Work

Location: New York City

Academic path: History major

What made the summer memorable: “Although I faced some challenges on a day-to-day basis, the scholars I had the opportunity to work with made it all worth it. Giving back to the future creators of the world is such rewarding work, and I would not trade it for a thing.�

An interesting internship fact: Harlem Children’s Zone’s goal is to break intergenerational poverty cycles by creating programming and opportunities for families, children, and communities in Harlem.

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: After previously “subbing at my high school in New York and working within the Lewiston school systems, the internship this summer sealed the deal that I would like to for sure be a teacher.â€�

What purposeful work means to me: For Primer, teaching middle school students problem-solving tools and then seeing them put “these skills into action a day or two after was very rewarding. This informed me that working with youth is where I need to be.â€� 

Elizabeth Gallegos Rodriguez ’26

Hometown: Denver, Colo.

Internship: Legal assistant with Gorayeb and Associates, a personal injury law firm where Jay Gorayeb ’20 is an attorney and Nolan Burgos ’15 is a paralegal, through the Center for Purposeful Work

Location: New York City

Academic path: Sociology major, education studies minor

What made the summer memorable: “One of the most impactful moments was having the opportunity to accompany Jay Gorayeb ’20 to a pre-trial meeting and taking time to prepare.�

An interesting internship fact: “Jay did a fantastic job ensuring our summer was filled with amazing learning opportunities that truly heightened our understanding of the law. Nolan Burgos quickly became a mentor in the office and someone who was always willing to answer a question or help us strategize solutions.�

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: Gallegos Rodriguez grew to understand “the importance of each step in the processâ€� while preparing a legal case, no matter how minute a detail may seem. She and fellow intern Angelina Amastal ’27 spent the majority of their time “marking medical records, a task that I initially found challenging due to the meticulous nature of reading hundreds of pages filled with notes.â€�

What purposeful work means to me: “Having the opportunity to not only shadow attorneys, but also directly assist in the legal process enabled a clearer understanding of how law can be utilized to uplift individuals, which to me is the ultimate form of purposeful work.�

Sam Scola ’26 

Hometown: San Mateo, Calif.

Internship: Summer analyst at Nasdaq Private Market, through the Center for Purposeful Work

Location: New York City

Academic path: Double major in economics and biochemistry

What made the summer memorable: Scola helped NPM develop a plan to launch a new private market fund, which required him to quickly familiarize himself with the ins and outs of private market mechanics. “One of the most challenging and rewarding parts of this summer was being given ownership over a project that was still in its earliest conceptual stages.�

An interesting internship fact: Scola’s summer with NPM “gave me exposure to how private markets operate and how capital actually reaches growing companies. I was able to sit in on conversations with venture capital firms and hear about their investment strategies, including how they think about entry points, liquidity, and value creation.�

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: “Working through problems helped me become more resourceful, confident, and comfortable with ambiguity. I came away from the experience with a much stronger ability to think independently and drive a project forward without needing a step-by-step playbook.â€�

What purposeful work means to me: Scola plans to use his dual interests in economics and biochemistry to support investment in early-stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. “I’m drawn to work that creates value for others, and helping to grow life-saving technologies by leveraging both of my skillsets feels like a meaningful way to do that.�

Karsten Stiner ’26

Hometown: Wasilla, Alaska

Internship: Gather to Grow summer fellow, through the Harward Center for Community Partnerships

Location: Lewiston, Maine

Academic path: Chemistry major, physics and mathematics minor

What made the summer memorable: “I had really wonderful interactions with the community. People would occasionally spark up a conversation with me, usually about cooking, but I really enjoyed connecting more with the Lewiston community. Hearing about their days, their ideas for recipes, or just some small talk really reminded me of what a wonderful community we are surrounded by at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.â€�

An interesting internship fact: During his internship facilitated by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, Stiner assisted with Gather to Grow’s youth programs, gardening and cooking efforts, and food pantry.

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: “Though I am not a biochemist, getting involved in the gardens really made me more interested in aspects of environmental chemistry and how it can impact the plants and animals around us.â€� 

What purposeful work means to me: “I really enjoy cooking, though I am usually more of a baker. Getting to cook more in the kitchen, often improvising recipes, was enjoyable. It was very fulfilling to know that I was helping others while doing something I genuinely enjoyed.�

Paloma Rodriguez Thorne ’26

Hometown: Lima, Peru

Internship: Research assistant in Assistant Professor of Physics Ryan Cole’s ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Laser Sensing and Spectroscopy Lab

Location: Lewiston, Maine

Academic path: Physics major

What made the summer memorable: “Our instrument needed to be incredibly precise, able to measure changes in the wavelength of light at or below one part per billion. Even small things like the temperature in the room or how cloudy the sky was could impact our measurements. It became a process of trial and error, adjusting our laser and other components, waiting for the right conditions, and testing again and again.�

An interesting internship fact: Rodriguez Thorne was building an instrument to precisely measure the spectrum of sunlight, work that could one day improve our ability to detect and study exoplanets

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: “This summer taught me that progress doesn’t happen all at once; it’s about small improvements and being persistent when things get complicated.â€�

What purposeful work means to me: “It was great to gain more hands-on experience in optics and laser spectroscopy, and learn how physics research can be applied to other areas such as astronomy and earth and climate sciences. It helped me see how what I study in classes and labs can contribute to help address larger questions and challenges in the world.�

Raegan White ’26

Hometown: Duxbury, Mass.

Internship: Bridal stylist assistant at Kleinfeld Bridal, through the Center for Purposeful Work

Location: New York City

Academic path: Rhetoric, film, and screen studies major

What made the summer memorable: “One challenge I’ve encountered involved helping a bride who had a very limited budget, was getting married within just a few months, and was also pregnant. We maintained honest communication and prioritized her comfort and vision. In the end, she left with a dress she felt confident and beautiful in.�

An interesting internship fact: “No bride is the same, and every appointment is a unique experience. At Kleinfeld, we meet brides from all walks of life. Many come in with insecurities or anxiety, and it’s our responsibility to create a welcoming space where they feel completely comfortable.â€� Read more about White’s internship in .

What I’ll bring back to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with me: “Rhetoric — the art of effective communication — is a skill I’ve come to appreciate on a much deeper level through my work at Kleinfeld. While I’ve studied rhetorical techniques in the classroom, this internship has shown me how essential they are in the real-world.â€�

What purposeful work means to me: “This work is purposeful because a wedding is one of the most important days in a person’s life. The dress a bride chooses is often tied to her identity, her values, and how she wants to feel in that moment. Helping her feel seen, understood, and celebrated isn’t just retail — it’s emotional, human work.�

As the academic year drew to a close, the Harward Center for Community Partnerships celebrated the strength of the college’s engagement with the Lewiston–Auburn community with a string of grants and awards.

This year, the Harward Center awarded grants of $16,322.50 to five community organizations that support refugees and asylum seekers: Maine Immigrant and Refugee Services, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Asylum Seekers Resettlement Program, St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, and Trinity Jubilee Center.

The grants are funded by the endowed James W. Carignan ’61 and Sally Larson Carignan ’62 Fund for Community Programs, which has distributed over $150,000 worth of grants to local community organizations since its establishment.

The fund honors the legacy of the former ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ dean of the college and his wife, whose commitment to community engagement and civic leadership shaped the way that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ interacts with and supports its local community. 

In that sense, says Jenna Dela Cruz Vendil ’06, the Harward Center’s associate director of democratic engagement and student activism, “the Carignan Fund is part of a larger ecosystem of relationships and programs that connect ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ with the off-campus community in mutually beneficial ways.â€�

When a Carignan grant helps strengthen a local organization, “that organization is in a better position to provide learning opportunities for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students.â€�

This year’s Carignan grants will provide much-needed funds to local nonprofits that recently lost some federal funding, helping them to support “more than 100 new refugees, vetted and relocated here by the government, with immediate needs such as food, housing, and transition support.�

Additionally, on May 5, the Harward Center hosted its 2025 Community Partnerships Awards Celebration, honoring 20 individuals and four organizations and partnerships in recognition of their excellent achievement in community engagement.

“These individuals and organizations have helped move the needle on any number of initiatives, from affordable housing to food security to youth development,â€� says Darby Ray, the director of the Harward Center and the Donald W. and Ann M. Harward professor of civic engagement. 

“In every instance, their work is making a tangible positive difference in our shared community. For ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students, the chance to work with local leaders to move community goals forward while also building real-world skills like collaborative problem-solving and cross-cultural communication is often a highlight of their college years.â€�

Student and student groups who received awards are:

• Inez Johnson ’25 and Maggie Kornfeind ’25, recipients of the 2025 Award for Outstanding Academic Community Engagement
• Maria Femia ’25, Madi Mettler ’25, and Lily Houser ’25; Poppy Marsh ’26, Eva McDonough ’25, and Olivia Reynolds ’25, recipients of the 2025 Award for Outstanding Community Volunteerism and Student Leadership
• Sam Skinner ’26, recipient of the 2025 Civic Leadership Award
• Maggie Amann ’25, recipient of the 2025 Student Activism Award
• Ananya Rao ’25, recipient of the 2025 Peggy Rotundo Award for Excellence in Democratic Engagement
• Natalie Gersen ’28 and Luca Balzano ’28, recipients of the 2025 Award for Outstanding Community Engagement by a First Year Student (“Rookie of the Year” Award)
• Students for Justice in Palestine Club and Men’s Lacrosse Team, recipients of the 2025 Award for Outstanding Community Engagement by a Club/Team
• Annie Robinson ’26, recipient of the 2025 Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellowship
• Sakina Saidi ’26, recipient of the 2025 Imagining America Joy of Giving Something (JGS) Fellowship
• Carmen Liang ’26, recipient of the 2025 Professor Leland and Claudina Bechtel Award
• Ella Beiser ’25, recipient of the 2025 Robert S. Moyer Award for the Prevention of Domestic Violence

Faculty and staff members who received awards are:

• Whitehouse Professor of Psychology Amy Bradfield Douglass, recipient of the Faculty Award for Outstanding Community-Engaged Work
• Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Patty Rooney, recipient of the Staff Award for Community Volunteerism, Leadership, or Engagement

Lewiston–Auburn community partners and projects who received awards are:

• Sonia Turgeon, the operations manager of the Center for Wisdom’s Women, recipient of the James and Sally Carignan Career Achievement Award
• Rosati and ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, a partnership between Rosati Leadership Academy and the college, recipient of the Award for Outstanding Community Partnership
• “Ka Bogsoâ€� (Somali for “Be Healed”), a collaborative visual art and psychological theory project, recipient of the Award for Outstanding Community Project

Eight young ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College alumni, including seven new graduates, have been offered Fulbright Student awards for 2025–26. 

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has been recognized as a Top Producer of Fulbright Student awards for 14 straight years, most recently in February for 2024–25.

“These accomplished Fulbright recipients embody the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ mission of commitment to responsible stewardship of the wider world,â€� said President Garry W. Jenkins. “We are immensely proud of and thrilled for our awardees, whose academic achievements, passion for intercultural understanding, and joy in exploration will enable them to build powerful connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.â€�

This year’s awardees have been offered Fulbright English teaching assistant grants for Germany, Rwanda, Spain, Switzerland, and Taiwan, and a Fulbright research award for Slovenia.

Each year, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers over 400 awards in more than 135 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects around the world. 

“I have been inspired this year by seeing ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students and our young alumni lean into our world’s accelerating complexity,â€� said Robert Strong, director of national fellowships and lecturer in English. “It’s good to know that these ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fulbrighters will be around the globe, representing the positive, problem-solving spirit of American leadership in learning and research.â€�

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fulbright Committee described these internationally minded young leaders as humble, enthusiastic, personable, curious — and exceptionally knowledgeable.

Claire Bohmer ’25

Claire Bohmer ’25, a biochemistry major from Steamboat Springs, Colo., has been offered a Fulbright study/research grant for Slovenia. 

Research Experience Includes: Bohmer studies Lyme disease with a place-based approach that combines lab research and local knowledge. At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, she was a researcher in the lab of Paula Schlax, Stella James Sims professor of chemistry and biochemistry, as a National Institutes of Health INBRE fellow, investigating RNA and protein behavior in the Lyme disease–causing bacterium. 

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Community Activities Include: Biology teaching assistant, STEM scholar, AESOP trip leader, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Public Health Initiative participant, and president of Chicks on Sticks women’s ski club.

Fulbright Research Purpose: To compare the primary bacterial transmitter of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, as it appears in Europe versus the United States in order to better understand the pathogen’s structure and function, which could help establish more effective therapeutic treatments for Lyme disease.

In collaboration with the University of Primorska, in Koper, Slovenia, Bohmer will also observe how Slovenian communities combat Lyme disease using public health initiatives and disease research, to determine if such methods could serve as global models for other countries to implement as tick-borne diseases grow increasingly prevalent under climate change.

Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Slovenia: To volunteer at the Science Centre at the University of Primorska to share science with the general public, connect with local schools in Koper and work with elementary students to better understand the local knowledge of those living in tick-populated areas, and run with the Obala Ultra Trail group.

Plans After Fulbright: To attend medical school for pediatric care or pursue a master’s degree in biotechnology.

What the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fulbright Committee Said: “Both her academic endeavors and her extracurricular activities keep her engaged in her community: She always seeks to connect what she loves to what she does.â€�

More About Bohmer: During a semester spent studying climate science in Patagonia, Bohmer stepped outside the lab to learn directly from ranchers, fishermen, and storekeepers, discovering that place is defined less by landscape than by the people and stories that shape it. 

As an emerging scientist with an interest in research, intervention, and disease management, Bohmer is driven by that sense of connection. “Genuinely connecting and listening to others may just be the solution to changing scientific narratives that no longer serve communities at large.�

Charles Breyfogle ’25

Charles Breyfogle ’25, a double major in politics and French and Francophone studies from Columbus, Ohio, has been offered a Fulbright English teaching grant for Switzerland.

Relevant Experience Includes: French-English translator with Maine’s Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, French language teaching assistant, sailing instructor, and soccer coach.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Community Activities Include: Center for Purposeful Work peer advisor, former varsity soccer team member, and volunteer at Trinity Jubilee Center.

Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Switzerland: To join a community soccer team, coach or volunteer with youth soccer players, join outing clubs, offer English tutoring outside of the classroom, and volunteer for social service or environmental organizations.

Plans After Fulbright: Earn a law degree and work as an immigration lawyer serving French-speaking populations.

What the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fulbright Committee Said: “Charlie is a quiet leader who makes the groups he is in much stronger through his skills in mediation. He will be a model for his students regarding community engagement and civic responsibility.â€�

More about Breyfogle: An avid traveler, Breyfogle has connected with friends around the world through the universal language of soccer. He joined Kansai Gaidai University’s team during his semester abroad in Japan and, despite knowing little Japanese when he arrived, became friends with Japanese students through bonding over the sport.

“Soccer has allowed me to create friendships and learn more about other cultures, whether immigrants to the U.S. or while traveling abroad. I now have a plethora of friends waiting to open their doors to me around the world — I too would do the same for them.�

Maple Buescher ’25

Maple Buescher ’25, a politics major from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was offered a Fulbright English teaching grant for Spain. For 2025–26, she has chosen a different path and will serve as a Spanish teaching apprentice at the High Mountain Institute, a wilderness-based semester school in Colorado.

Relevant Experience Includes: Teaching assistant at an afterschool program for children from underserved populations in Spain, youth mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid–Maine, and counselor at Reaching Heights orchestral camp. She completed an honors thesis analyzing nationalist rhetoric and changing understandings of nationalism in Galicia, Spain, from 2016 to 2024.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Community Activities Include: Ladd Library student access specialist, editor-in-chief of The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Student 2023–24, Outing Club trip leader, and club sailing team member. She graduated magna cum laude, with honors in politics and Phi Beta Kappa membership, and received the Charles A. Dana award.

Wes DeOreo ’25

Wes DeOreo ’25, a double major in politics and German from Westport, Conn., earned a Fulbright English teaching grant for Germany.

Relevant Experience Includes: Research aid studying transatlantic history at the University of Freiburg, in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; English teaching volunteer at the Carl-Shurz-Haus in Freiburg; and head coach of PTSV Jahn Freiburg Pumas Lacrosse.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Community Activities Include: AESOP leader, rugby club president, Athletics student assistant, and Davis Fitness Center attendant.

Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Germany: Join community sports teams and reconnect with German friends and family.

Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a career in public service.

What the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fulbright Committee Said: “Wes has a strong sense of service. Wes also has an impressive sense of humility and is eager to learn from his students through this experience.â€�

More about DeOreo: While teaching English during his semester abroad in Germany, DeOreo fielded students’ questions about life in America, including questions about gun violence, particularly sensitive to DeOreo in the aftermath of the October 2023 shootings in Lewiston.

“It will be my job to encourage my students to embrace their curiosity and see the classroom as a place where they have freedom to seek answers to these challenging questions.�

Ale’ia Gallego Calle ’25

Ale’ia Gallego Calle ’25, a politics major with minors in Chinese and Japanese from Waterbury, Conn., was offered a Fulbright English teaching grant for Taiwan in July.

Relevant Experience Includes: English tutor for elementary-aged ELL students, online private tutor, 2022–24 president of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Chinese Club, semester spent studying in Shanghai.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Community Activities Include: Office of Intercultural Education peer educator, first-generation peer mentor, co-founder of the Korean Intercultural Association.

Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Taiwan: To establish or support a bilingual storytelling club at a local library, organize field trips for students to local farms to support local agriculture and deepen students’ appreciation for how their food is created, and establish or join a program assisting students in pursuing higher education abroad.

Plans After Fulbright: Work with international organizations on humanitarian and social justice initiatives, ultimately pursuing a career in medicine and academia.

What the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fulbright Committee Said: Ale’ia’s “experience organizing cultural events reveals her ability to engage diverse communities, crucial for positive representation. Her adaptability, evident from her study abroad experiences, ensures she can navigate cultural differences gracefully. These qualities, combined with her knack for cultural exchange, make [Ale’ia] an ideal ETA.â€�

More about Gallego Calle: Gallego Calle’s passion for cultural exchange and language learning began as a young child, when her family moved to the U.S. from Colombia and Gallego Calle taught her younger sister English by telling her stories.

As an English teaching assistant, she’ll again utilize storytelling to help her students learn. Gallego Calle says she is “not just aiming to understand Taiwan; I want to become a part of its story. By embracing new experiences, celebrating cultural differences, and finding common ground in unexpected places, I’ll bring the Fulbright mission of fostering mutual understanding as an ambassador to life.â€�

Madeleine Kwei ’25

Maddy Kwei ’25, a psychology major from Pasadena, Calif., earned a Fulbright English teaching grant for Taiwan.

Relevant Experience Includes: English teaching assistant in France and Nicaragua, psychology teaching assistant at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, and creator and leader of a six-week English language learning program with Families Forward Learning Center in Pasadena, Calif.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Community Activities Include: Over 100 hours of community-engaged learning experience mainly with youth in afterschool programs and classroom settings, community outreach fellow with the Harward Center for Community Engagement, women’s varsity golf team member, and Ladd Library access desk worker.

Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Taiwan: To encourage students to play sports with an emphasis on gender equality and volunteer with Special Olympics.

Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a master’s degree in counseling psychology, with the goal of working as a psychologist for diverse youth and people with Asian backgrounds.

What the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fulbright Committee Said: “Maddy is passionate about working with youth and learning more about adolescent development, and skilled at communicating and efficiently solving problems.â€�

More about Kwei: Kwei spent several years of her childhood in Beijing, where the friendships she formed at her international school informed her passion for intercultural communication from an early age.

While showing Danish friends she met in Beijing around Maine, Kwei became aware that “Americans hold a high regard toward celebrating regional cultures and integrating diversity into everyday life. Learning to recognize the values and beliefs that make me an American (and the blind spots that I still have) deepens my curiosity to learn more about the world and how I can contribute as an informed global citizen.�

Helena Raddock ’24

Helena Raddock ’24, a politics major from Warren, Vt., has been offered a Fulbright English teaching assistant grant for Rwanda.

Relevant Experience Includes: Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition intern with the Rwandan Association of Maine; English language learning mentor to elementary school students; Lewiston High School tutor; Vermont Council on World Affairs participant; field organizer; study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, with a human rights and multiculturalism program.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Community Activities Include: Center for Purposeful Work peer advisor; Snaggletooth literary magazine contributor; peer tutor for First-Year Seminars; “Get Out the Voteâ€� fellow for Harward Center for Community Partnerships. At commencement, she received the Maung Maung Gyi Award for Excellence in Politics with membership in Phi Beta Kappa, completing an honors thesis on “The Construction of Coloured Identities: Apartheid Nostalgia and the Politics of Memory.”

Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Rwanda: To offer career-guiding workshops for Rwandan citizens at the U.S. Embassy, create an English language learning book club, and volunteer with women’s empowerment organizations such as Rwanda Women’s Network or Empower Rwanda.

Plans After Fulbright: To pursue a master of arts degree in global affairs with a focus on gender, conflict, resolution, and peacemaking.

What the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fulbright Committee Said: “Since learning that Rwanda has the world’s highest proportion of women in government positions, Helena has wanted to live in Rwanda and learn more about the role of women in Rwandan education and society.â€�

More about Raddock: Raddock’s passion for helping others learn languages is largely informed by her experience living with a host family in South Africa, who welcomed her and encouraged her as she learned the isiXhosa language, which was no easy task.

Last summer, she attended Middlebury College’s French language immersion program, which “deepened my passion for language learning and cultural immersion.�

“My goal is to foster an atmosphere where language learning is viewed as an opportunity for growth and connection, just as it was for me during my time with my homestay family.�

Emma Seitz ’25

Emma Seitz ’25, a double major in theater and history from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been offered a Fulbright English teaching grant for Germany.

Relevant Experience Includes: Study abroad and research assistant at Berlin International University of Applied Science, teacher assistant at the Grace Church Theater Department in New York City, children’s summer camp leader in New Paltz, N.Y., during COVID-19.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and Community Activities Include: Merimanders a cappella, Musician Union treasurer and secretary, club volleyball, AESOP leader.

Plans for Host-Community Engagement in Germany: To facilitate cross-cultural communication through open discussions on contemporary issues and topics, join a music group and a theater group, and provide tutoring for several subjects including English and history.

Plans After Fulbright: To work as a teacher in the U.S. while pursuing a career in playwriting and script writing for television and film.

What the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Fulbright Committee Said: “Since returning from study abroad, Emma continued to read German news, watch German media, and speak the language whenever she could. She wrote her history thesis on the difference in generational guilt surrounding the Holocaust between East and West Germany. Emma will arrive in Germany with an excellent knowledge of its history, culture, and current events — and with an excitement to learn more.â€�

More about Seitz: While studying abroad in Germany, Seitz produced a short film for a final project in just three weeks, which required her to use her still-developing German to secure a filming permit from Berlin’s main transit company.

The experience was “hard and rewarding work,” she said. “I wanted to continue teaching and collaborating with Germans because of the challenge.â€� She’ll bring her experience studying and working in German to her role as an English teaching assistant, aiming to make her students feel supported and understood in the classroom.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ juniors Aleisha Martinez Sandoval and Mohammed Mohammed, who are both ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ STEM Scholars with a lifelong passion for science, have earned prestigious Goldwater Scholarships.

The two are among just 441 sophomore and junior students, from 1,300 nominated applicants, to receive 2025 Goldwater Scholarships, which provide merit-based awards to undergraduate students who intend to pursue careers in science, mathematics, and engineering. 

It’s the first time that two ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students have earned the prestigious STEM scholarship in the same year. 

Sandoval, who is from Mexico City, and Mohammed, from Iowa City, Iowa, are both first-generation college students and both biochemistry majors, with Sandoval also majoring in politics. 

Each is also part of the innovative STEM Scholars program at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, which provides mentoring, coursework, and community to a select cohort of students, including those traditionally underrepresented in science and mathematics.

“It’s thrilling to have our first double Goldwater be two talented STEM Scholars. What makes this moment so meaningful is that both Aleisha and Mohammed have combined scientific excellence with a demonstrated commitment to equity and service,â€� says Robert Strong, a lecturer in English who is director of national fellowships. 

“STEM Scholars made me interested in research,� says Mohammed, who plans to pursue advanced degrees in medicine and public health. “It helped me grow as a young researcher and gave me the space to explore and define my interests.�

Sandoval will use her Goldwater support to pursue her goal of becoming a physician-scientist focused on cardiology. “Ever since I was a kid, I feel like there’s nothing else in the world I want to do,â€� she says. “You know how people have plan A and then plan B? I don’t: Ever since I was 5 or 6 years old, I’ve been telling my mom, ‘I’m going to be a doctor.’â€�

April Horton, the Wagener Family Professor of Equity and Inclusion in STEM and director of the STEM Scholars program, says students like Mohammed and Sandoval embody the confidence and persistence that the program aims to cultivate.

“You don’t really get anything you don’t apply for, and we’re all going to get ‘nos’ in this world. But we surely aren’t going to get a ‘yes’ if we don’t apply,â€� Horton says. “I try to help the students cultivate that attitude, from when they apply for that very first internship or research experience to applying to something like the Goldwater.â€�

Sandoval, who grew up in Mexico, attended a specialty high school in Texas for students interested in healthcare. There, she trained as an EMT and paramedic and treated patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I realized that I have the capability to actually help people on their worst days,â€� says Sandoval, who has been an active member of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Emergency Medical Services.

At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, she has gained extensive research experience. She has worked in the lab of Associate Professor of Biology Larissa Williams, examining the effects of the chemical pollutant perfluorooctane sulfonic acid on the cardiac development of zebrafish.

Last summer, she conducted cardiovascular research at Boston Children’s Hospital while on a Harvard/MIT program that offers research experiences for underrepresented students interested in pursuing a combined M.D./Ph.D. program. This past semester, she studied abroad in Copenhagen, conducting research at the University of Copenhagen on stem cell models for Type 1 diabetes.

Last fall, Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Daniel Slane mentored Sandoval during an independent study that looked at how specific genes in the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana contribute to heat stress memory.

Slane saw early signs of her determination. “She was persistent,� he recalls, in setting up the independent study, “and that was good. And she would come in again in the evening after dinner to finish something that might not have worked out. That overall drive and enthusiasm — that struck me.�

Slane encouraged Sandoval to consider a research path alongside medical studies. “I saw fire in her eyes for research, and I thought, why not go down the track to being a doctor who does clinical research at the same time?�

As a politics major with a focus on public health equity, Sandoval understands how systemic inequalities — from environmental exposures to gaps in healthcare access — shape medical outcomes for underserved communities.

“Politics is engraved into medicine,â€� Sandoval says. “Without proper laws that protect patients or that protect research, there’s not going to be any advancement in medicine. I think that we need to protect research, and we need to protect science.â€�

Mohammed, who is also a trained EMT, first became interested in medicine and research as a child growing up in Sudan during ongoing civil conflict and unrest in the country.

Before moving to the U.S. at age 9, Mohammed looked around and noticed that the conflict was causing healthcare and medicine shortages. He wanted to understand why and, since coming to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, has pursued numerous research opportunities.

“Naturally, I’m a curious person,â€� Mohammed says. “When something captures my interest, I can’t help but ask why. I enjoy digging deeper into things I don’t fully understand.â€�

Mohammed has channeled his curiosity into research across disciplines. After his first year, he studied breast cancer treatment plans at the University of Florida College of Medicine through the Summer Health Professions Education Program. 

Following his sophomore year, he conducted peptide synthesis research at the University of Mississippi’s Department of BioMolecular Sciences. 

During his study abroad, also in Copenhagen, he conducted research at the Globe Institute at the University of Copenhagen on DNA sequencing and recovery techniques for degraded forensic material. 

This summer, Mohammed will conduct endometrial research at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, investigating therapeutic responses to patient-derived tumors.

He is also interested in bioinformatics — the use of computation to interpret biological data — which he has supported at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ through a minor in digital and computational studies alongside his biochemistry studies.

Back at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ this fall, he’ll complete his senior thesis in the lab of Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Jen Koviach-Côté, exploring chemical synthesis — the construction of complex molecular compounds through targeted reactions.

Koviach-Côté, who became Mohammed’s advisor after teaching him in organic chemistry, has watched his interests evolve and mature. “As he has taken classes and learned new topics, new tools, his interests have led him into thinking about things that could be combined in other ways,� she says. “That’s where I’ve really seen him grow as a student and as a scientist.�

Koviach-Côté notes the significance of his journey. “I am so proud of him, just really thrilled for him. He has worked really hard. He’s overcome a lot of barriers.�

For two days each semester, Assistant Professor of Economics Kyle Coombs’ “Data Science for Economists� students are laser-focused on one goal.

They hole away in a reserved space on campus for a 48-hour “hackathon� to test their problem-solving skills and apply code, economics, and data science to real-world issues in the local Lewiston community.

Coombs’ goals for the class are to teach students the skills needed for real-world project management and to tackle problems which harm society as a whole. Knowing how to work with data can be a great tool for justifying, evaluating, and addressing socioeconomic concerns. 

“The motivation is around using data to get at social issues, inequality issues, and how it manifests around race, gender, income inequality, economic opportunity, and whether that’s equitable,â€� Coombs says.

During the fall 2024 hackathon, Coombs’ students tackled a project to examine the efficacy of the city of Lewiston’s efforts to address lead-paint hazards. Like many other cities around the country with aging housing stock, Lewiston has faced problems of lead paint exposure and poisoning in the home.

The Lewiston–Auburn area’s rate of childhood lead poisoning incidents is the highest in the state, according to Healthy Androscoggin, a public health initiative focused on wellness and disease prevention in Androscoggin County.

“We’re the second largest city in Maine, and we have per capita the highest number of young people in the state,â€� says Jacqueline Crucet, a former city of Lewiston neighborhood development planner who has worked with Coombs and his students. “It’s very important that we have healthy homes for these young people to grow in.â€�

Through a partnership set up by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, Coombs connected with Crucet, who provided the hackathon students with information about the city’s lead program.

The data included comparisons of lead paint prevalence with home age and socioeconomic indices, statistics about the kinds of homes that the city has targeted for lead mitigation programs, how the programs are implemented, whether through grant-subsidized or fee-based models.

Coombs’ students analyzed the data and found that the city’s efforts to reduce lead exposure are mostly meeting their goal of targeting homes with the greatest risk of lead exposure, suggesting that during upcoming efforts, the city focus its attention on homes built between 1920 and 1940.

Coombs’ other hackathons thus far have focused on the correlation between streetlights and decreased crime rates and designing rental assistance pilot programs to support local renters.

In recent years, the verb “hack� has shifted away from its nefarious meaning — anonymous computer geniuses working to steal data — to mean solving a problem or creating a shortcut. To wit, a hackathon is a fast-paced, collaborative gathering, with suitable high-tech overtones, to solve a problem in a short period of time.

The hackathons showcase the students’ emerging “creativity and technical skill,â€� Coombs says, “which is a lot of what you use in workplace scenarios.â€� 

Each semester, Coombs collaborates with the Harward Center to reserve a campus space for the hackathon; there, students hunker down to work, though the “hackers� come and go for classes, sports, and sleep. While they hack, Coombs fields takeout requests and delivers favorites like Mother India and Pure Thai.

Nick Brown ’25 of Hopkinton, Mass., arrived at his hackathon last fall straight from track practice and settled in to work with a burrito in hand. He says he spent six to ten hours each day working on his team’s project.

“That was with fully comped, really good meals, and working with a great team of people,� Brown says. “It never felt at any point that I was not going to finish or felt rushed. It overall was a very positive experience.�

Like a team of coworkers, the students were responsible for independently dividing up group work and coordinating their schedules.

“I did a lot of the data cleaning and then the regressions, other people did a lot of visualizations or worked on the presentation itself,� Brown says. “It felt very natural, and we also felt like we were communicating very well.�

“Data Science for Economistsâ€� is cross-listed as both an economics and a digital and computational studies course. The hackathon is the culmination of a semester spent, for many of Coombs’ students, learning to code for the first time, an often-frustrating process of trial and error. 

“You will make constant mistakes,â€� Coombs says. “It’s about learning how to get through the mistakes, push through, address the problems, help yourself find creative solutions to a technical problem.â€�

The students organize their work in GitHub, a software storage program, and code in the language “R,â€� which is free and open source, meaning any student can access the code from their personal computer. An economics and history major with a minor in math, Brown used the R skills he learned during the course to complete his senior economics thesis. 

“In terms of raw skill building, this was probably the number one class I’ve taken at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½,â€� Brown says. 

After each two-day hackathon, the students present their work to city partners and make recommendations based on what they discovered. The city partners can then use the analyses in their own evaluations and projects. 

“It was really cool to be able to present to community members and see them actually derive insights from what we found and think about how those could be used to actually benefit people,� Brown says. “That was really insightful for me, how you can leverage your skills to create meaningful impacts.�

Each hackathon subject ties directly into greater city plans. In 2020, Lewiston received a $1.3 million federal grant to develop a resident-led transformation plan, “Growing Our Tree Streets,â€� for its downtown neighborhood, which has nine goals that will be accomplished across 25 years. (“Tree streetsâ€� is the nickname of the neighborhood where many streets have names like Oak and Maple.)

Based on the strength of the transformation plan, the city was awarded a $30 million Choice Implementation Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Lewiston is the first small city in the country to receive the competitive grant, which is intended to help cities revitalize and transform neighborhoods. “We are like this beautiful experiment,â€� Crucet says. “We’re the right size for this kind of major investment where we’re taking some risks and trying to be as innovative as possible to meet the goals that we’ve set out in the transformation plan.â€�

Crucet was attracted to Lewiston because of that very “go getterâ€� mindset that led residents, including ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ alumni, to lead the charge for the transformation plan. 

“We have this amazing cadre of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ alumni,â€� Crucet says. “They’re doers and they’re taking all of their knowledge and all of their life experience and investing in Lewiston, and they see a future.â€� 

By tackling subjects included in the city transformation plan and making suggestions to the city, Coombs’ students are able to join in on these real-world efforts. 

“The exercise of the hackathon enables them to have the opportunity to inform actual policy and the business of the municipality in which they live,� Crucet says.

Commuter traffic rumbled past the homey building on Main Street, but out back, the vibe was considerably more melodious. Instead of revving engines, live classical music was the soundtrack for an early October day at the Looking Ahead Clubhouse in Lewiston.

Two ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students and a newly appointed professor of music helped to bring the soothing beauty of music, through piano and voice, to an audience at the vocational center for adults living with mental illness.

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ musicians performed as part of the , who is visiting various towns and cities to perform for audiences who may not typically have access to live music.

Sawada performs in intimate, inclusive spaces such as community centers, shelters, and public schools, rather than traditional concert halls. At the clubhouse on Oct. 4, she and the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students and their professor performed outside on the patio behind the building, located just a mile from campus. Clubhouse members gathered close by.

Jahan Baker-Wainwright ’25, a biochemistry major from Cottage Grove, Wis., played Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata. Marrich Somridhivej ’26, a biology major from South Windsor, Conn., and Sawada performed Amy Beach’s “Summer Dreams� for four hands.

Chris Gepford, the director of the Looking Ahead Clubhouse, said that the event hit some important notes. “We had recently started a relationship with ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½,â€� through the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, he said, “and this was a wonderful way to start our partnership.” 

Hosting the Gather Hear visit and events like it can help raise awareness of the clubhouse’s programming in the Lewiston-Auburn community, he added, “so that individuals with mental health needs have a program where they are colleagues, and their unique talents and abilities are utilized [so they can] grow into the best version of themselves.�

For the students, the Gather Hear performance was a meaningful opportunity to connect through music. “Classical music often lies behind a barrier that many people struggle to overcome,� said Baker-Wainwright. “My job as a classical musician is to share music, and I’m happy to have contributed to a more inclusive experience.�

Somridhivej, who has been playing the piano since age 6, noted how he has “typically performed in front of judges or a competition jury, where the focus is on technical precision and evaluation. My performance became less about perfection, and more about connecting with people and sharing the beauty of music.�

Gepford said, “We loved having the opportunity to be a part of individuals’ academic journey.�

 Zen Kuriyama, who joined the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty this fall and directs the College Choir, sang two pieces by Franz Schubert: his emotionally charged “Der Doppelgängerâ€� and the uplifting “An die Musik.â€� Choosing contrasting selections was intentional, said Kuriyama. “We wanted songs that represented a binary of mental states — one ecstatic and joyful, the other frenetic and dark.â€�

While Gepford said classical music is not the go-to listening choice of clubhouse members, “we had a lot of positive feedback from our group. Everyone agreed that the music was wonderful, enjoyable, and calming.�

As one of the clubhouse members told Kuriyama afterward, “The negative voices in my head stopped for the first time in months while listening to your music.�

That response speaks directly to the sentiments expressed in of one of the pieces Kuriyama sang, Schubert’s “An die Musik.” The title means, simply, “To Music,” and the opening lyrics are: “In how many a bleak hour, when I am enmeshed in life’s tumultuous round, have you kindled my heart to the warmth of love, and borne me away to a better world.â€�

On a 22-degree day in November, Erin Reed ’08 arrived at the Trinity Jubilee Center in Lewiston at 5:30 a.m. to help unload some 4,000 pounds of food from a Good Shepherd Food Bank truck. 

Two hours later, bundled in ski pants and a hoodie, the center’s executive director stood outside, patiently checking in people who came to collect cardboard boxes full of free vegetables, fruit, cheese, and frozen catfish to help feed their families. 

After another two hours, Reed finally came inside the soup kitchen to work on her laptop. She looked around for somewhere to sit, since a doctor was using the center’s only office to provide free health clinics. She grabbed a metal chair and set up shop in a large hallway where grocery boxes were being packaged, her lap serving as a makeshift desk as she typed away. It proved the perfect setting.

Behind Reed draped over a large stack of diapers hung a blanket adorned with rainbows and unicorns — a backdrop that stood in stark contrast to the difficult, life-altering social work Reed does here for those in need. 

“I’ve watched the impact of what Erin has done and what the place has meant to Lewiston as part of the fabric of this community,� said Kim Wettlaufer ’80 of Lewiston, the former director of Trinity Jubilee Center, who is still an avid volunteer. “There are a lot of demands. People come here with extreme circumstances. Their needs are great. It needs someone who is even-keeled, someone with a calm exterior.�

Reed is all of that, but her job is far from easy. So for the ongoing What It Took series, we asked her where she finds inspiration, strength, and the will to dig deep on the darkest of days. 

What did it take for Reed to serve the most vulnerable in our community in the early days of COVID when all of her volunteers suddenly quit because of the public health crisis, or following the Lewiston mass shooting during the shelter-in-place order, or during any one of Maine’s frigid winters the past 10 years?

When asked, Reed’s words evoke the idea of compassion, an awareness of the needs of others, and the desire to help those in need.

“I think of the quote ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’ To me, I’m someone who was born in the U.S., I’m healthy, I have a solid family. All that puts me ahead of 90 percent of the people in the world. I don’t know how, when you work in a place where everyday you see life is way more precarious than we like to think, how you don’t help,â€� Reed said.  

Part of that compassion comes from the fact Reed’s grandparents were Irish immigrants, coming to the U.S. from County Cork and County Tyrone. In Detroit her grandmother worked as a domestic worker and her grandfather at a manufacturing job in the auto industry. 

“The reality is no one else will do this. No one else will cook lunch for the community every day, no one else will do paperwork to get kids out of refugee camps. What we do is not fun or easy but we can’t just walk away,� Reed said. “It’s hard to go home at the end of the day. My clients can’t get jobs until I help them get a work permit. If their landlord is asking for a rent check and their kids are hungry, an hour of my time could change their life.�

Since Reed took over as the center’s executive director in 2014, she’s grown the center’s reach, increasing the staff from one to four full-time employees and the number of families the Center’s Food Pantry helps feed each week from around 100 to upwards of 200. The center now helps an average of 100 people a year find jobs and it annually serves a total of 4,000 individuals in the Lewiston area.

Moreover, next month Reed will announce the final stage of a fundraising campaign for the center’s new home after the nonprofit raised more than $2 million to build the 5,500-square-foot, $4.9 million center that will be located downtown on ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Street. [March 2024 update: The center has now raised $4 million, more than 80 percent of the project budget.]

When it’s built next year, the work of providing a food pantry, soup kitchen, day shelter, and resource center will move from the basement of Trinity Episcopal Church, where the nonprofit has rented space since 2001. 

“She’s taken it to a whole new level,â€� said Wettlaufer. 

Part of what led Reed to find her work at the center were her years at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, before she graduated with a degree in sociology in 2008.

Reed found the Trinity Jubilee Center within 48 hours of arriving on campus when her AESOP trip went there to volunteer in the soup kitchen. Afterward, she would ride her bike down to help at the center in whatever way she could. Then she served the Harward Center for Community Partnerships as a student volunteer fellow, coordinating ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ volunteers at the Trinity Jubilee Center.

Reed still works with the Harward Center, guiding student volunteers and those looking to job shadow. Darby Ray, the Harward Center’s director, called Reed a “transformative leader.�

“The culture on campus was that if you were excited about something, go for it. That was a great mindset to send us out into the world with.”

Erin Reed ’08

“She’s amazing not only because of the impact she and her team have, but because they are profoundly relational and humble. There’s not enough of that today,� Ray said. “Erin is one of the most humble and understated leaders in our community. She’s not about the fanfare or the attention. She’s about supporting the vulnerable members of our community.�

Reed said the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ philosophy to try, explore, and adventure inspired her to believe she could do anything she wanted. She belonged to nine clubs and organizations at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½.

“It was amazing being around people who were so curious and so engaged. The culture on campus was that if you were excited about something, go for it. Learn all about it, get involved, don’t be intimidated, just jump in. That was a great mindset to send us out into the world with,â€� Reed said. 

But when Reed reflects on her time at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, she also calls her younger self naive for how she tried to help the world simply by joining in protests for social justice causes. In the end, it was a single fundraiser her junior year that showed her a better way.

A friend who worked in Commons was helping to fundraise for another Commons employee who was getting treatment for breast cancer. Reed joined the effort, helping to organize the sale of homemade fudge outside Commons to raise money for the sick woman. Not long after, while studying at a table in the dining hall, she looked up and saw the young mother whom she was helping, whom she had never met.

“She was still pretty sick. It was so sweet watching everyone come from behind workstations and fuss over her,� Reed said. “It really drove home to me what matters: Helping out other people in your own community. You can make a big difference by putting your energy there.�

Almost 20 years later, Reed lives that experience every day. Now it’s difficult for her to go shopping at Home Depot or the grocery store. Everywhere she goes, she sees people the center has helped.

“Going shopping can take a very long time,� she said with a laugh. “In every department there is someone who we helped get a job. They are so excited, they want to thank you. They want to tell you about their kids. That’s been a constant for years.�

In the end, what it takes for Erin Reed to charge into a 12- or 14-hour work day — an all-too common experience for her — is knowing herself and the kind of meaningful work she needs to do, work that embraces our shared humanity. 

“This is my place in the world,â€� she said with a shrug. “I don’t know how I could get up every day and do something I didn’t really believe in. If people come and ask you for help, how could you say, ‘No?’â€�

As an example, Reed shared a story of a local man who is on oxygen and lives in his car. He regularly comes into the center and asks for help, handing over his oxygen machine to Reed or others on the center staff so they can plug it in and charge it for him, usually while they are busy helping other clients. 

“He’s always very grateful. It’s a huge thing for him. He doesn’t have anywhere else to do that,â€� Reed said. “You don’t realize how kind and how resilient people are.â€� 

Whether it’s your first time voting or you still think Dewey defeated Truman, you might have ballot questions.

Should I cast a vote when there’s only one candidate? Can I leave a ballot blank when I don’t have an opinion? And if midterm elections are ho-hum affairs, why should I head to the polls on Nov. 8?

To answer those questions and more, staff writer Freddie Wright spoke with Jenna Dela Cruz Vendil ’06, who joined the Harward Center for Community Partnerships in July as associate director of democratic engagement and student activism.

An award-winning organizer, activist, and engagement strategist in Maine, she has supported youth and student engagement in politics and social movements in the state for 15 years.

Vendil joins a college with an outstanding reputation for student voting engagement. In 2021, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ was honored as one of 48 colleges with the highest student voting rate in the country, as 84.9 percent of eligible students voted in the 2020 election.

In her work to engage students in all things democratic, Vendil succeeds the inestimable Peggy Rotundo, who retired in 2021 as the Harward Center’s director of strategic and policy initiatives. Rotundo is “a true trailblazer and champion of civic engagementâ€� in Maine, in the words of Maine Secretary of State Shanna Bellows. 

We spoke with Vendil to get the scoop on voting in the midterms.

It’s an off-year election. What’s at stake?

Well, we have a split Senate: We have 50 senators who are Republican, and 50 senators who are, or caucus with, Democrats. U.S. citizens are feeling that there’s a lot on the line. 

Additionally, there are 36 states that have gubernatorial races on the ballot.  Following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling, more national issues such as abortion access will be determined at the state level.

Does my vote matter?

It absolutely does, especially during midterm elections or in local races. Many elections in Lewiston and Auburn, for example, are decided by less than 40 votes. In 2019, the mayoral race in Auburn was decided by six votes. And the year before, in 2018, the state representative race was decided by 41 votes. 

Is there a national theme to this election?

One theme is that democracy itself is on the ballot, and . In some states there are candidates for positions of secretary of state, governor, and lieutenant governor who are 2020 election deniers. 

So it feels that there is an existential threat to the institution of voting, and a threat to what could happen if we have state elected officials who would block a peaceful transition of power by invalidating an election.

The process of safeguarding election results didn’t used to be partisan. What baffles me is that for decades there have been Republicans, good Republicans, who have been counting ballots and been a part of election systems for 30 years in states like Arizona and Texas and Georgia. They’re being attacked by fringe elements — and being replaced by more elements that have very different attitudes about voting and who should and shouldn’t vote.

How do I find information about the candidates and issues on the ballot?

We recommend a range of resources to find nonpartisan information about candidates and ballot measures. No matter what state you live in, these three can help:

Vote 411 has a cool voting guide. You can enter your home address, it will populate your local ballot and races. You select your candidates, and then Vote 411 will text or email your selections to you so you have them when you vote. 

Your state might have an elections and voting portal , and start from there.

For ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students, the Harward Center created a for students — covering every race, from the 2nd Congressional District 2 to county commissioner.

We try to make it easy so you don’t have to be a politics major to think about how you’re going to vote. But it can be overwhelming. Information is more accessible, but it’s harder to find out what is accurate and factual. It takes time to be an informed voter.

Should I pay more attention to the top of the ballot or to down-ballot issues?

There’s such a big public emphasis on president, governor, and offices like that. But on day-to-day life of U.S. citizens. I think after the 2020 elections, the interconnections among politics and policies and how they impact our lives have gotten clearer.

Start with what’s important to you. We help students think about what they want to see happen, what they care about. 

Whoever we elect at the local level can have a statewide impact on issues we care about. Take the position of secretary of state or attorney general. Maine is the only state where neither are elected by the voters: Both are elected by the Legislature. The Maine attorney general will affect reproductive rights. The Maine secretary of state has the ability to either support student voting rights or make it more challenging for students to vote.

What if there’s only one person in a down-ballot race? Why should I bother?

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That was how I was elected to the board of education [in Portland, Maine] my first time! 

If it’s a down-ballot race, it’s going to be local, and you might know the person: Politics is very personal. If we have a relationship with someone who’s on the ballot or we know who that candidate is you feel drawn to voting even if there’s only one name on the ballot.

What if I’m stumped on a choice while in the voting booth?

You can always try to look up information on your phone! But we try to encourage students to prepare ahead of time.

Should I complete the entire ballot? 

It’s about how comfortable you feel about the process. If you don’t feel like you can make an informed choice, you can leave part of your ballot blank. People do it all the time. 

When we talk to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students, we want them to feel comfortable with voting. There’s no right or wrong answer to how we vote. Except that you can only vote for one candidate — we just don’t want you to have your vote thrown out.

Do you encourage ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students to vote in their home state or in Maine?

We encourage students to vote wherever they feel is most important to them, whether that’s at home in another state or here in Lewiston. 

When they vote in Maine, we encourage students to think about how their vote can have an impact locally, because it does matter. We want them to understand who and what they’re voting on.

Maybe they want to vote in their home state because they want to see a certain candidate elected in Texas, or to support voting rights in Georgia. We work to support students in their thinking about those connections. What do they want to see? What do they most care about? And then we support students in making that decision about where they want to vote.

We’ve talked to students from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont who have super-competitive elections in their home states, and they’re like, “Yeah, I can just drive home.â€� That’s great: They have their vote plan. Then we have students from Alaska who need to return their ballots by today [Nov. 1] to make sure it gets through.

What is your sense of whether ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students identify with candidates or with political parties?

Almost all ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students were born after the Bush–Gore election in 2000 and after 9/11. So their view of life is filled with school shootings, struggling economies like the 2008 Great Recession, and now the pandemic, climate change, and January 6th.

They don’t need to be told that politics impacts their lives. They feel it, and they live it. And in some ways, knowing where candidates stand on the issues helps students be able to understand how the candidates will help them in ways that maybe institutions like the parties haven’t really quite fulfilled.

The pandemic has prevented so many children from doing what kids need to do: play together, talk (and sometimes argue) together, connect, and re-connect.

“Coming out of COVID-19, I was in my house for like two years,” says middle-schooler Abdillahi Omer. “I didn’t really know how to communicate that well with people.”

Omer is a regular at Rosati Leadership Academy in Lewiston, a nonprofit that’s getting support from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ soccer players as it uses the game of soccer (specifically, futsal, a fast-paced version game played on a hard surface) such as leadership, resilience, mindfulness, empathy, and inclusivity.

“Now I’m starting to build up my communication skills,” Omer says. Indeed, at Rosati, youngsters learning more than how to kick and pass a soccer ball. Another Rosati regular, Abdiaziz Mohamed, shares that he had a habit of getting angry and “not listening to my teachers. But when I came here I just changed — my anger just went down.”

For the youngsters at Rosati, mentoring and life lessons often come from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students, who have received support from the college’s Harward Center for Community Partnerships.

When men’s soccer senior captain Alec Szwarcewicz ’23 of Newton, Mass. transferred to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ in 2019, he knew he wanted to get involved with youth soccer in Lewiston. He soon connected with Rosati.

“I immediately fell in love with the environment,” he says. “Kids absolutely love soccer, and the mutual respect that everyone had for each other was really awesome to see.”

When Noah Riskind ’16 returned to Lewiston as an assistant soccer coach two years ago, Szwarcewicz recruited him as a Rosati volunteer.

“Within the game of soccer there are so many difficult moments,” says Riskind, now the Bobcats’ interim head coach and the assistant director of Rosati. “How do you react when the ref makes a bad call? How do you react when you’re having difficulties with your own teammates, and you disagree with them?”

Tife Agunloye ’25 of Monroe, Conn., is another ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ student helping to provide answers to those “how do you?” questions.

Just as many of the youngsters at Rosati are part of families who are new to the U.S., Agunloye’s own family is originally from Nigeria. “It’s great to teach them things I wish I could have been taught when I was younger,” he says.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ was recently honored as one of 48 colleges with in the 2020 presidential election.

With 84.9 percent of eligible students heading to the polls in 2020, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ garnered a platinum seal from the ALL In Campus Democracy Challenge, a nonpartisan national awards program that recognizes colleges and universities for their commitment to increasing student voting and civic engagement.

Forty-eight colleges earned the platinum designation for achieving voting rates over 80 percent.

“The cultivation of ‘informed civic action’ is a pillar of our institutional mission,â€� said Darby Ray, director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, which oversees the nonpartisan voter mobilization effort, known as ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Votes. “Voting, including voter education, registration, and mobilization, is a crucial form of civic action and the very foundation of a thriving democracy.â€�

The 2020 edition of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Votes was coordinated by students Amalia Herren-Lage ’22 of Shoreham, Vt., and Ashka Jhaveri ’22 of Chappaqua, N.Y., with expert advice and guidance from Peggy Rotundo, who retired in 2021 as the Harward Center’s director of strategic and policy initiatives.

Rotundo was the ideal role model and mentor, said Herren-Lage and Jhaveri. 

“Her confidence, experience, and incredibly kind guidance created a beautiful working environment for us to experiment with ideas and execute our goals in a professional and enthusiastic manner,� said Herren Lage. “That’s something I hope to bring into all my future endeavors.�

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Votes is a grass-roots effort that leverages peer-to-peer engagement and the willingness of many campus partners among students, faculty, and staff. “It’s an all-college effort — all hands on deck,â€� says Ray.

Vote Captains, students who are trained by Harward Center staff on how to register and educate voters, engage students in a massive outreach campaign through clubs, organizations, athletic teams, residence halls, classes, and friends groups. Plus chalking — lots of chalking — all around campus, exhorting folks to vote. 

For Herren-Lage and Jhaveri, who are close friends, the experience with ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Votes offers a model for purposeful work — “a professional, enthusiastic partnership,â€� said Herren Lage. 

In 2020 as with other elections, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Votes and the Harward Center supported a range of voter-education programs, dubbed the Election Connection. ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ faculty members added their expertise and insights, including two roundtables that shared scholarly insights into election results, as well as the video series Democracy QuickBites, featuring insights from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ people and invited guests, including U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine.

Some 844 two- and four-year U.S. institutions of higher education and more than 9.2 million students are now part of the ALL IN Campus Challenge program, which gathers its voting data from the .

Here are a few 2020 student voting facts from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and nationally:

• 66 percent of college students voted in 2020, an all-time high and a 14-point increase from 2016.
• ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ student voting rate of 84.9 percent was 7.3 percentage points higher than 2016.
• 93.7 percent of students registered to vote, 2.2 percentage points higher than 2016.
• Due to the pandemic, only 117 students voted in person in 2020. In 2016, the number was nearly 600. (Students cast in-person votes at the Lewiston Armory.) 

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ voting rate of 85 percent means that 1,459 of 1,718 eligible ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students voted.

On Election Day, Herren-Lage, Jhaveri, and their fellow ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Votes volunteers chalked tally marks on the pavers in front of Commons showing the number of students who told them that they’d voted.

 â€œWhen we went home around 8 o’clock, after the polls closed, we had something like 1,100 marks on the ground,â€� recalls Herren-Lage. “We were convinced it was a huge overestimation — no way that many people had actually gone out to vote.â€�

Fast forward to fall 2021. “We learned that closer to 1500 students voted. And that feels amazing.�

Herren-Lage and Jhaveri emphasize that casting a vote is just one way of effecting change, and not always the most effective. “At ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, there are so many ways to be involved in social change in our community of Lewiston-Auburn through the Harward Center.â€�

Still, the right to vote is precious. “There’s a reason so many people have fought for and to protect voting rights. A lot of people find a sense of power in being able to cast a ballot, particularly in a country where citizenship is such a privilege. That sense of power matters, because I think it can be an avenue for hope.�

During a Nov. 9 virtual awards program honoring Maine colleges involved in the ALL In Campus Challenge, Rotundo, former longtime Maine legislator, received a lifetime achievement award.

The event’s featured guest, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, called Rotundo “a true trailblazer and champion of civic engagement� in Maine.

As she accepted the Maine Campus Voting Legacy Award, Rotundo, who co-founded ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½â€™ community-engaged learning program with the late Jim Carignan ‘61, didn’t sound like a woman ready to talk about her legacy.

“What an honor to work with you all,â€� she said. “And boy, this work is more important than ever, right?â€� The folks on the Zoom call nodded, nearly in unison. “But we’re up to the task. We’re going to keep our democracy strong. We’re going to do what needs to be done.â€�

Bellows announced that the Maine Campus Voting Legacy Award will be named for Rotundo going forward. “Peggy is a reliable champion for civil rights, for voting rights, for education, and for student engagement,� she said. “Her commitment to civil rights and voting rights is a true inspiration.�

Her mentees in 2020, Jhaveri and Herren-Lage, couldn’t agree more.

“Learning from such an experienced, wise person was special,� said Herren-Lage. “Peggy always let Ashka and I take the lead on our projects, and really made it possible for us to make our visions a reality. I hope that I’ll be able to emulate her quiet, supportive leadership style.�

The awards event was attended by representatives from Maine colleges that participated in the first biennial Maine Campus Voting Challenge: ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, Bowdoin, Colby, Saint Joseph’s, College of the Atlantic, Husson University, Kennebec Valley Community College, University of Maine, University of New England, and the University of Southern Maine.

Launched in September 2020, the Maine Campus Voting Challenge is cosponsored by the nonprofit Maine Students Vote and the Office of Maine’s Secretary of State, in partnership with ALL IN Campus Challenge.