From the president
Zoë has served with the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service in the Civic Changemakers program, where she led DC middle school students through a curriculum about solving problems in their community and creating change. She worked with students to produce an asset map of their community, identify issues they would like to address, research social issues, identify a realistic project to create change in their community, plan and execute that project, and present their results to their peers and supporters. Beyond this, Zoë also serves as a Community Engaged Scholarship Course Guide, where she supports students across the university in community-engaged courses. She collaborates with faculty members to support student service, checks in with students, and provides training on service tracking and assessment. Zoë’s commitment to public service extends to her internship experiences, having served in roles in both the House of Representatives as well as the New York County Supreme Civil Court.
In high school, Zoë interned with the New York Historical Society, partnering with other students to amplify stories of underrepresented people in history. She developed leadership skills as part of Student Council, mentored other students through the Young Women’s Association and a peer connection program, and explored public service pathways by participating in an advocacy institute and for teens and an internship in a community justice center.
Personal Statement
I have found great joy in civic engagement work through education and direct action. I was honored to spend last summer as an intern at the Nashman Center’s Civic Changemakers program. In this role, I taught middle school students the basis of civic engagement through root causes and problem-solving to lay the foundation for impactful projects. Through this experience, I learned that education is an important first step to robust civic engagement. That's why my vision for civic engagement starts with people receiving a holistic civic education that is bolstered by research, paired with both service and action. I believe that everyone has the potential to create change they just need the right tools to make it happen. This is where a holistic civic education comes in if they all were able to learn the many different things that go into civics they could see their place in it better. This leads to students becoming active in their communities. The commitment to civics that stems from their education would lead to research that would improve the learning of others. I went through a similar cycle while working at the Nashman Center where I learned about and became active in civics.