By Program Assistant & Co-op Amanda Tompkins and Program Assistant Asta MacKie
Each year, the Service-Learning Program asks our community to nominate any student, faculty member, community partner, or Service-Learning Student Leader who goes above and beyond in their role within Service-Learning. This year, we received a record number of nominations, and were so pleased to see the outstanding partnerships being formed through our networks and the incredible work being produced within each partnership. In recognition of their exceptional partnerships this year, the Service-Learning Program is excited to congratulate our two pairs of winners for the 2017-2018 Course-Community Collaboration Award: Nicole Aljoe & Amanda Tompkins and Adreenne Law & Sue Freeman!
Nicole Aljoe & Amanda Tompkins
Nicole Aljoe: Faculty Member – Nominated by Jennifer Javier (J.J.) at 826 Boston
Amanda Tompkins: Service-Learning Program Assistant & Co-op and Service-Learning Teaching Assistant – Nominated by Faculty Member Nicole Aljoe
Course & College Affiliation: Boston in Literature – College of Social Sciences and Humanities
“I’m not sure this or any letter could accurately describe how much Nicole means to us. If I could include photos, sound bites of the many satisfied sighs and yelps talking about her individual work and her work with us, the smile of Josue Sakata, the Vice President of Social Studies & History in Boston Public Schools, had on when we bragged about her and Paul’s [History teacher at the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Sciences] passion for raising marginalized stories… then maybe you would truly feel what we feel. Nicole is an exemplar of assets-based community development, an inspiring educator, and a partner, friend, and beloved member of the 826 Boston family. There is no one more deserving of this award than her.”
-Jennifer Javier (J.J.) of 826 Boston
“Amanda has been an amazing teaching assistant. By far, she has been the teaching assistant I have ever had. She has outperformed, by far, every single graduate Teaching Assistant I’ve had. Not only is she incredibly organized and very conscientious, but also proactive and creative and her level of professionalism has been absolutely incredible… She has helped me to think differently about my development of the course, and I will definitely incorporate her work about the Busing Crisis (and give her credit, or course) in future iterations of the course. And most importantly, I have been consistently impressed with Amanda’s thoughtfulness and her commitment to equality and social justice and working with her has compelled me to be a better teacher, scholar, and person.”
-Nicole Aljoe, faculty member
Adreenne Law & Sue Freeman
Sue Freeman: Faculty Member – Nominated by Service-Learning Student Christopher Scianna
Adreenne Law: Community Partner and Program Director at Timothy Smith Network – Nominated by Sue Freeman
Course & College Affiliation: Cornerstones of Engineering – College of Engineering
“Adreenne and I are partners in a thriving Lego Robotics program in Roxbury, but it is more than that, we are a team, we are friends, working together on a regular basis to make sure that every child and parent in Roxbury and every Northeastern student get the best experience that can impact their lives. Adreenne is involved and invested, she can be found visiting any number of sites that meet every afternoon and evening every week. She is engaged, and present when she visits, she spends time chatting with the kids, taking them aside if they need some personal time or a bit of a talk, encouraging them and taking thousands of pictures. We cannot do this without each other, I provide 70 students and 20 mentors every semester, and they feel valued and engaged, she provides the sites, Lego kits, site leaders and local children to go to these sites week after week and year after year (now in our 4th year on this endeavor). We hold a showcase at the end of every semester, I do some organizing, she does some, and we put it together as a team.”
-Sue Freeman, faculty member
“I am a fourth year engineering student and have had the luxury and honor of working with Professor Freeman all four years at Northeastern University. After piloting an after school program at local Boys and Girls Clubs, in 2014 the program expanded to include a single group from her Cornerstone in Engineering course. I had the privilege of being one of the four students who went to Orchard Gardens, a K-8 Citizen Teaching school in Roxbury. This 4 month experience has changed my life forever... Professor Freeman’s service learning classes have touched so many students. It has opened the door for dozens of us to be leaders in the community and gain endless amounts of skills and knowledge. It made it possible for me to become a teaching assistant every year since my freshman year and has encouraged me to write a paper on the effects of service learning on engineering students. Professor Freeman is the hardest working individual I know, always putting the needs of the community over her own.”
-Christopher Scianna, student
Honorable Mentions
Hannah Lee Flath: Service-Learning Team Manager – Nominated by Service-Learning Teaching Assistant Taylor Drysdale
“Hannah is always organized, on time and engaged in our meetings and it is obvious she genuinely loves Service-Learning and cares about each of us.”
-Taylor Drysdale
Sabrina Kantor: Service-Learning Student – Nominated by Cara Solomon of Everyday Boston
“From the very beginning, Sabrina was the consummate professional: responsive, resilient, hard-working, consistent.”
-Cara Solomon
Kian Kiat Lin: Service-Learning Student – Nominated by Karen Liberatore of United South End Settlements
“Kian is hard working, dedicated, thoughtful, and a strong young leader and positive male role model.”
-Karen Liberatore
Austin Vyas: Service-Learning Student – Nominated by Service-Learning Teaching Assistant Cassandra Barrett
“Austin Vyas has shown enthusiasm for service since the first day of our Inquiries in Biology course.”
-Cassandra Barrett
Lianxizi (Cici) Wang: Service-Learning Teaching Assistant – Nominated by Cynthia Wilkerson of Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly
“Every week, Cici showed up with enthusiasm and warmth, organizing activities and sharing things she was learning in class. She made everyone feel welcome and was often at the center of a lively conversation.”
-Cynthia Wilkerson
Jasmin Watson: Service-Learning Student – Nominated by Nina Vansuch of Boys & Girls Club of Boston-Sumner
“Jasmin has been open and gracious to our kids and finds a way to connect, however small or large.”
-Nina Vansuch
Interested in learning more about past winners? Learn more on the S-Log!
S-LOG 