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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.

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.

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.

How does a service internship program provide service during a pandemic? If you’re a COOP (Community Outreach and Opportunity Project) service intern you adjust, adapt, and take to Zoom. And then you expand programming to engage other Hamilton students eager to take on volunteering.

Joaquin Pacheco Criado ’23 regularly dedicates himself to using his skills to help others, so it comes as no surprise that he would fill his summer schedule with two internships focused on aiding various communities. Interning for both MAB Learning Coach and Manna Project International, Pacheco Criado spends most of his days working to provide financial and education services to the public.

Eleven members of the Class of ’23 are serving as COOP Service Interns (CSIs) this year. The CSI program is designed for those students who are keenly passionate about service. Students are set up with a two-year paid internship at an area nonprofit. This year’s group is interning at Root Farm, Compassion Coalition, and the United Way to name a few.

Maggie Horne '19, who has a job teaching math to high school students, learned she wanted to be an educator through Hamilton's Community Outreach & Opportunity Project.

Even before some first-year students set foot on Hamilton’s campus for the first time, they get an email about the Community Service Internship (CSI) program. The program is offered through the Community Outreach & Opportunity Program (COOP) and pairs incoming first-year students with a four-semester, paid internship with community partner agencies in the Mohawk Valley.

Although there are many opportunities for community outreach at Hamilton, a select group of students have chosen to go above and beyond by taking their service experience off the Hill and into their local communities.