From the president
Curtis Goines is a sophomore at the College of the Holy Cross, where he exemplifies a values-based approach to leadership rooted in service, social justice, and a deep commitment to educational equity. A first-generation college student from Trenton, New Jersey, Curtis is a history major and education minor whose lived experience inspires his passion for reforming education and mentoring youth who face systemic barriers to opportunity.
Curtis leads with integrity and purpose. As co-chair of the Black Student Union and a student leader in the Division of Justice, Equity, Belonging, and Identity (JEBI), he has advanced campus conversations around equity and inclusion, fostering spaces of dialogue, learning, and belonging. His activism is matched by hands-on engagement: through community-based learning and Holy Cross’s Teacher Education Program, Curtis works directly with young people in Worcester and his home community, providing academic support and serving as a trusted mentor.
Guided by the Jesuit ideal of being a person for and with others, Curtis leads by example—grounded in reflection, relationship, and a steadfast commitment to the common good. He is a young leader of great promise who envisions a more just and compassionate future built through education, solidarity, and action.
Personal Statement
I attended public school all my life in a low-income neighborhood up until high school when I switched to private school. This experience allowed me to see firsthand the disparities within the field of education. The stark difference in the resources and support systems between the low-income public schools versus the private one I attended was deplorable. It was through this experience that I became not only interested in but committed to addressing issues of educational inequality. Since then, I have actively been addressing this issue by becoming a fellow through the Teach for America Ignite Fellowship. Through this fellowship, I tutor and support low-income students of color in reading and writing. At Holy Cross, through the classes I have taken on education, I have had the opportunity to do community-based learning, where I have been placed in different schools around Worcester, Massachusetts. In these schools, I have had the pleasure of building relationships with students from diverse backgrounds and supporting them in the classroom. Back home, I also volunteer for an after-school program that works to provide academic support and other resources for the students who are in my community.