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As long as she has been a student at Hamilton, Mary Hurner ’24 has been passionate about building community both on and off the Hill, and this summer was no exception. Hurner was recently recognized as an inaugural awardee of the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, also known as the Voyager Scholarship. The scholarship granted her a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb housing to pursue a self-designed work-travel experience.

Nine students spent part of their winter break teaming up with Maxwell Akuamoah-Boateng ’09 on a community service project in Philadelphia. Akuamoah-Boateng, who serves as the city’s director of operations for community schools, organized the Alternate Break (AXB) trip that focused on youth engagement/urban service.

Mary Hurner ’24, a public policy major from Heber City, Utah, is among the first recipients of the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, also known as the Voyager Scholarship.

Amy Zhai ’22 is among six seniors who were recently awarded Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships. We’ll be featuring all of them on the news page in coming weeks.

Nearly 140 Hamilton student-athletes dedicated more than 400 hours to local organizations on Saturday, April 9, as part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Day of Service.

Hamilton College’s Alternative Break (AXB) service trips returned this year for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with three student groups spending their time away from campus helping communities in North Carolina, Ohio, and Delaware.

As far back as middle school, Eleanor Wefing ’23 loved working with people who have developmental disabilities. One big reason she chose Hamilton was its off campus-study program at the New England Center for Children, which serves people with autism.

Hamilton students got into the holiday spirit of giving through several campus initiatives. HAVOC sponsored its annual mitten tree where participants each volunteered to fulfill a gift request from a needy child.

Each year, a group of dedicated students are selected by the Community Outreach & Opportunity Project (COOP) as senior fellows whose job it is to connect students with volunteer opportunities, building a bridge between the Hill and the local community. For 2021-22, the senior fellows are Casey Brown, Mackenzie Christensen, Lila Kirchhoff, and Amy Zhai.

Julianna DeSimone ’21 will join the non-profit Forest Foundation after graduation. Here she talks about the organization, her service experiences at Hamilton, and what drew her to the program.