On April 3, all students received an email from community service encouraging them to “lift up and celebrate our community members who have made, and continue to make, great contributions to our local and global communities through service to others” by nominating classmates they believed would fit the criteria for the 19th Annual John Kirby Simon Service Awards.
The John Kirby Simon Service Award is named in honor of alumnus Mr. John Kirby Simon ’79, a notable member of the U.S. Foreign Service. The award is presented to one student from each form, taking into account the nominations the student has received as well as their recorded community service projects and activities. This year, the award recipients were Kelly Moh ’18, Ethan Wedge ’19, Haley Strom ’20, and Ula Lucas ’21. Although each recipient received the same award, all of them took different paths in their community service.
For Lucas, community service is what makes her feel useful to those around her. “Before I came to Choate, I did a lot of work with the iPad program at a retirement home. We would go to the retirement home across the street and show seniors how to use technology. I did that for three or four years, so that was my really big experience with community service.”
While Lucas has participated in many community service projects, her favorite memory is when she helped one senior citizen in particular during the iPad program: “I worked with one senior every single time. She was so excited each time and kept coming back. There was just this excitement when she got something – it was just so encouraging and infectious.”
Lucas recalled the time she helped the older woman find a video of herself at a salsa dance showcase at the retirement home, and then aided her in sending the video to her kids. “The next day, her kid called saying thank you. It showed me that I didn’t have to necessarily be skilled to help someone; it was literally finding a video on YouTube. It was those little moments knowing I was there making a difference with her.”
Like Lucas, Strom enjoys the purpose that community service gives her. “Typically at Choate, it’s been more about getting to know other people through a bunch of projects at school,” said Strom. While Strom appreciated and supported the organizations that she is part of at Choate, she found her most meaningful service experiences to be during the summer as a volunteer at the Coral Restoration Foundation, an organization with bases across the globe. “Its mission is to clean up the oceans: we go down under and help rebuild the coral beds by growing and planting coral,” explained Strom.
Strom stated that the most valuable lesson she retained from her volunteering experiences is to learn whenever possible. “Often, community service is something where you’re a leader and being the communicator. It’s more of a unique experience when you’re just there proctoring and still meeting people. I’ve learned so much from just being there during a project and doing little jobs.”
Likewise, Wedge has had much experience working his way from an observer to a leader through his time being a Boy Scout. Currently a Life Scout, Wedge is fulfilling necessary requirements to achieve the highest attainable rank: Eagle Scout. To become an Eagle Scout, Wedge must organize and manage an extensive service project. For his project, he is collecting personal supplies for Project Cure, an organization that distributes medical supplies worldwide to those in need.
“Over spring Long Weekend, I executed my entire project, which I actually started last summer,” Wedge explained. “This summer, I’m going to deliver what I collected to the Nashville headquarters. Through Boy Scouts, I’ve found a real passion for community service.”
Even with his Boy Scout commitment and involvement in community service at Choate, Wedge is dedicated to giving back at home. His family volunteers at a local organization, Hands On Atlanta. In fact, before Boy Scouts, Wedge was inspired to serve his community by his family. “Community service was something I was kind of born into: my mom and sister always did it, and I saw its positive, fun experiences. Community service has not only provided me one of the most heartwarming, thought-provoking, and enjoyable moments of my life, but also the ability to be an agent of change in my community for the things I’m passionate about.”
As a senior, Moh has accumulated more than 300 hours of community service. “I really started getting into community service junior year. I found a camp for people ages 5 to 22 with physical and/or mental disabilities, and I volunteered there for two to three weeks.”
Moh elaborated that her role was to interact with campers as communication was difficult for many of them. She helped the kids get acquainted with social interactions, be able to talk to others and comprehend social cues, and have fun playing outside.
“A lot of my work has made me especially like working with children, animals, and people with disabilities,” she said. “I just love what I get to do.”
Community service has also influenced Moh’s decision to major in psychology in college and work in the field of special education in the future. “With community service, I’ve not only been able to help other people; they’ve been able to help me see what career I want.”
While community service at Choate can sometimes seem to some students like more of a regulated chore than a fun activity, giving back to the community is beneficial for both those who need help and those who provide it. These four students have shown that community service can be an enjoyable task that teaches valuable lessons.
