Spring 2003
A Greater Dimension
After four years, a commitment to community emerges as the ideal for the Classes of 2003
by Mary LeClair
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Kitchen Duty. Rich Leone ’03, Amanda Herman
’03, and Kristen Mogilnicki ’03 stand in front of Joe
Sievert ’04 and Ryan Gillmore ’03 in the kitchen
of the First United Methodist Church on South
Main Street. Leone currently oversees the
Community Lunch Program, a duty likely to be
undertaken by Sievert next year.
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Two years ago, as she walked amid the grand Renaissance architecture during her semester abroad in Rome, Amanda Herman ’03 was struck by what she saw. There, on the sidewalks, streets and steps of the city, sat the homeless and other impoverished souls. She was moved by their plight, and shocked by the tourists who walked by the poor as if they weren’t there.
That moment stirred in Herman a desire to aid the needy. So after the strains of the bagpipes from Commencement fade, she plans to pursue a career as a dance professor — but will first join the Peace Corps.
Three years ago, Rich Leone ’03 was asked to work an hour at the Geneva Community Lunch Program serving meals to the hungry. Leone calls the experience “powerful.” Never before had he encountered such a level of poverty. Now, as he fills out law school applications, Leone is confident that, as a lawyer, he will devote time and energy to representing the underprivileged.
This past fall, Jennifer Lawrence ’03 walked into a classroom at Waterloo High School and was met with a battery of questions from four freshmen whose primary language is not English. They needed help decoding their classroom assignments from the previous day.
Lawrence has since worked with these kids every school day. After graduation, she intends to keep helping students as a certified ESL teacher. She’s also passionate about working for reforms that will make education more accessible to those who speak a foreign language.
Amanda, Rich and Jennifer are just three students from the Classes of 2003 who have said they intend to make volunteer work part of their future after Hobart and William Smith. Interestingly, each points to an influential factor in the decision to commit to service—Colleges President Mark D. Gearan. The Classes of 2003 are the first to graduate having spent all four years on campus with Gearan as president.
Some talk about the direct impact Gearan has had on them. Most recall how the speakers and guests he has brought to campus and the compelling forums he has initiated have made a difference in their lives.
Gearan, in turn, commends them. “These four years have been amazing,” he says. “The Classes of 2003 have worked to address all kinds of problems—teaching children to read, serving food to the needy, building a home for a low-income family and more. Their commitment to service is inspiring.”
For all intents and purposes, President Gearan has led students in these graduating classes to believe they can make the world a better place, evidenced by their post-HWS plans to work for a cause and, most importantly, share their passion.
Left Meets Right
In the fall term of his sophomore year, Billy James ’03 logged more than 130 service hours. He has kept stride since, working at the Geneva Recreation Department, hammering nails for Habitat for Humanity, serving ziti with the Rotary Club and organizing the annual Halloween parade for children in Geneva.
“I’ve tried my best to get the campus involved in more community service work so that Hobart and William Smith do not just live in a bubble in the middle of Geneva, but that we interact and give back to the community in which we live,” James says.
While at HWS, he has gotten to know the President well, and Gearan has written him letters of recommendation for internships and law school. Although the two have divergent political ideologies—James describes himself as a Republican from a politically conservative household—they share a love of service and the law, which makes them kindred spirits.
James notes that several guests who have come to campus during President Gearan’s tenure, such as the visit from Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes, have been right up his alley. Yet even those who may have run counter to his political leanings, such as President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, have had plenty to offer.
“I think it has been good for me to hear first hand the opposite side of the issue,” he says. “I think that’s what a liberal arts education is about, looking at both sides of an issue, not just your own.”
Making a Difference
Kristen Mogilnicki ’03 began service projects as a grade school student. At HWS, she has worked at countless area hospitals and facilities for the mentally ill, with the Colleges’ AIDS Awareness club and more. After HWS, she intends to pursue a career as a counselor of chronically ill patients with AIDS and cancer.
“The campus has become more committed to public service since President Gearan became president,” she says. “And it’s not just President Gearan. The speakers show that service can be a part of any field you want to pursue.”
“President Gearan lets you know you can do something else that affects someone. I feel I can make a difference,” says Cathe Lee Corbett. She has volunteered at hospitals and nursing homes, as well as during the alternative spring break at Pocahontas State Park in Virginia. After graduation she will be on her way to medical school to become a child psychiatrist.
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Student Time. President Mark
Gearan’s daily schedule includes
time to meet with students and
attend campus events. As the president
of the Caribbean Student Association,
Sasania Champagnie ’03 (above)
talks with Gearan about club activities
and her desire to enter the Peace Corps.
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Students also note that Gearan has led by example. They especially admire his work with the Campus Compact and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Ryan Gillmore ’03 appreciates that, despite his commitment to such worthy organizations, Gearan has made time to speak in classrooms. He recalls Gearan’s guest lecture in his philosophy of law class. “President Gearan is someone to look up to,” says Gillmore, who plans to attend law school after graduation. “He is an amazing person who wants to share his knowledge.”
As one might predict, Gearan’s tenure also has increased interest in serving in the Peace Corps, and many students go directly to the Corps’ former director for information. Sasania Champagnie ’03, who discovered a love of volunteering while at HWS, recently sent the President an e-mail message asking how to volunteer for the Corps. Instead of merely giving her a courtesy answer, he suggested she stop by his office and talk.
Joe Corbett ’03 also enjoys the President’s visibility and accessibility. “President Gearan is always out and around at events on campus,” says the basketball forward, who shoots hoops and reads with elementary students through the Boys and Girls Club of Geneva.
“My parents even got to talk with him at a leadership dinner that we attended,” he added.
The Power of Words
Nico Howie ’03, founder of the Colleges’ Refuse & Resist! chapter, arrived on campus “skeptical of and resistant to political insiders.” At first he attended the President’s Forum lecture series because, as an AV department technician, he was assigned to record each event.
During that time, Gearan brought national discussions to campus: George McGovern on world poverty, Carol Browner on environmental protection, Dr. Susan Blumenthal on women’s health. He also made sure students had an opportunity to meet with speakers for informal, small-group discussions at his home or in the classroom.
Over time, Howie grew to appreciate the series, and even helped bring his “hero,” David Dinkins, and support Ralph Nader coming to campus. After four years, the political skeptic seems to have had a change of heart. Howie has accepted a job as special operations coordinator for Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean.
“Through Mark Gearan I’ve learned to be more open to politics,” Howie says. “After meeting and listening to insiders, I realized that they were people who could be trusted, and who I could work with to make change.”
“My message to students is to think about ways to make service an everyday part of your life,” Gearan says. “Whether you’re off to Wall Street, law school or the Peace Corps, part of being a 21st century citizen is to serve. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best: ‘Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.’”
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