2025 CCE Alumni Newsletter
Director’s Note
Hello from Vermont!
We hope you are doing well. Here at Middlebury, we are drying off from a wet spring and celebrating an academic year full of meaningful engagement in our world — more than ever, we’re called to engage with others across differences to strengthen our communities. Over 80% of Middlebury College students contribute to collaborative social change through Center for Community Engagement programs.
This year our students continued to pursue community-based learning in classes, student-led organizations, internships, and immersive trips with their peers and 200+ community partners. Our experiential learning endeavors allow students to develop the civic knowledge, skills, and commitment required to contribute to the public good.
We are happy to share highlights that capture just a few of our 40+ programs in action from 2024-2025.
To celebrate and sustain our ongoing work, consider making a gift.
Please continue to be in touch and share how you’re bringing your light into the world, as alumni.
Take care,
Kailee Brickner-McDonald, Ed.D.
Director, Center for Community Engagement
Privilege & Poverty Interns Played an Integral Role in Expanding Campus and Community Conversations on Home, Housing, and Belonging
The Privilege & Poverty Academic Cluster (P&P) hosted the 2024 Clifford Symposium in September focused on “Home: Housing and Belonging in Middlebury and Beyond”. The idea for the Clifford Symposium came from two summer 2024 Privilege & Poverty interns, Ellie Cady ’25.5, and Freddi Mitchell ’25, who wondered why there wasn’t more being done to raise awareness about the state of home and homelessness in Vermont. For four days, campus and community partners engaged in a variety of topics and interdisciplinary conversations about how to take action on the housing crisis facing Vermont and the United States. Events included a keynote address by Erica Heilman, host of the award-winning podcast Rumble Strip; a panel of academic and practitioner experts in governance, housing, finance, planning and architectural history discussed the complexity of housing and policy; dinner and discussion around stories of home; a “Brunch for Action” at the Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society; and a documentary screening of “Just Getting By” by Vermont filmmaker Bess O’Brien.
This fall’s Clifford Symposium created a standard by which student involvement can help drive further engagement among students. In November, Matt Lawrence, Academic Director of Privilege & Poverty, sat with Ellie and Freddi, student organizers of the Clifford Symposium, to facilitate a conversation about their involvement. Watch the 33-minute video to learn more about their experience.
This summer, 16 Middlebury College students will participate in internship placements with 15 partner organizations. P&P placed nine students with organizations local to Middlebury College, the largest cohort in several years. Six students were also selected to participate in the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP) national internship program, P&P’s largest SHECP cohort to date. Another student, Lizuly Meraz ’26, was chosen for a highly competitive 2nd-year Policy and Non-Profit Leadership internship and will be interning with the United Planning Organization in Washington DC. Students are working with organizations providing housing and shelter, legal, health, food and nutrition, and crime victim services, among others, in Vermont, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas.
Students Grew their Civic Knowledge and Skills at the Fall Civic Leadership Retreat
The CCE hosted a dedicated group of 7 student leaders at the Civic Leadership Retreat this fall! The Civic Leadership Retreat is an annual three-day retreat before the start of the fall semester during which student leaders of CCE programs build community and grow their civic knowledge, civic skills, and civic identities. Collectively, these student leaders represented 7 of our 15 Community Engagement Organizations!
During this year’s retreat, students spent time reflecting on their values, goals, leadership strengths, and conflict styles. They also had the opportunity to learn about and practice skills related to group management, team development, project management, and collaboration with community organizations–using real examples of common challenges present in community engagement. Students also considered ways the CCE’s 15 Community Engagement Organizations can collaborate to meet organizational goals, host cross-organization programming, and address community needs. These early learning sessions helped CCE student leaders find creative ways to come together to build capacity and address challenges this year.
Students who attended the retreat were also given the opportunity to provide feedback on the development of a new Civic Leadership Certificate program, which will be developed over the 2025-2026 academic year with input from students, faculty, and staff.
Language in Motion Deepened their Programming with Local Teachers
Language in Motion (LiM) connects Middlebury’s international, study abroad, and upper level language students with local K-12 teachers to prepare and deliver lessons on global awareness, intercultural competence, and language acquisition. LiM students had a significant impact on local schools this year, working with over 20 Middlebury College students to develop classroom presentations with teachers across seven partner schools–including a new partnership with Randolph Elementary School.
In November, LiM hosted Spanish Language Day at Middlebury College, an exciting immersive language experience for 40 high school students. Spanish classes from Middlebury Union High School and Mount Abraham Union High School came to the campus for a full day of hands-on learning with LiM volunteers and students from the Department of Spanish. The day kicked off with a welcome at Wilson Hall, and from there groups participated in events throughout campus such as a scavenger hunt, a Portuguese or Spanish class, a museum tour, and even a biology lab. Some students stopped at the Spanish Language House to enjoy a cafecita and the CCE hosted a cooking session todo en Espanol!
Language in Motion also hosted the Addison Central School District’s (ACSD) Youth Summit in March, a day-long conference organized by the district and middle school faculty and staff. All ACSD sixth-graders gathered in Bicentennial Hall to engage in a wide range of community-connected workshops led by community members and Middlebury Union HIgh School students.
On top of their programming successes, Language in Motion made some organizational changes this year as they prepare to apply to become a student-led Community Engagement Organization in the fall. In an effort to deepen student leadership and create structures to support the complex program, LiM student leaders created a board of directors with three committees that work alongside Assistant Director Kristen Mullins to make decisions and set the direction for the organization.
Democracy Initiatives Brought Campus-Wide Energy to National Election
Democracy Initiatives had a busy fall gearing up for the 2024 Presidential Election. Staff-led Democracy Initiatives programs, along with the student-led organizations MiddVotes and Civics in Action, worked to bolster student engagement and voter registration at Middlebury College. Thanks to campus-wide initiatives like the First-Years Residence Hall Voter-Pledge Challenge, Voter Registration Drives, and the Midd Rocks the Vote event, more than 500 Middlebury College students registered to vote in either Vermont or their home states. Student volunteers also assisted more than 300 students in mailing their absentee ballots and hosted the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Debate Watch Parties, each gathering over 100 students in attendance.
On Election Day, MiddVotes coordinated rides to the polls, helping 80 students vote in person –big thanks to Donn Marcus, our shuttle driver! They also hosted an Election Results Watch Party, which brought together over 300 students. MiddVotes President Daniza Tazabekova ’26 said that “overall, Middlebury had an energy and excitement surrounding voting that has never existed before!” Read more about the surge in student engagement around the 2024 election in this article from the Addison Independent.
Paper Cranes Took Flight for MLK Jr. Day
On January 20th, 75 campus and community members gathered, undeterred by the Vermont cold, in Middlebury’s downtown College Park to commemorate the life and message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The “Flights to Freedom” event, co-sponsored by the Anderson-Freeman Resource Center, the Scott Center for Spiritual and Religious Life, and the Center for Community Engagement, was a warm and uplifting celebration of MLK’s legacy that wove together speech, song, and art. The event featured Oratory Now students reciting two MLK speeches, Middlebury Union High School chorus members who facilitated the crowd in a pop-up choir, and ended with the launching of the “Flights to Freedom” 1000 Paper Crane project - a community-wide effort of folding 1000 paper cranes in the ancient Japanese tradition of senbazuru, an act that symbolizes the hope for peace.
Many hands and many hours went into realizing the 1000 Paper Crane art piece. We are grateful to our campus and community partners who helped fold peace birds for this project. Some of them include the Isley Public Library, the Congregational Church of Middlebury, Vergennes Union Middle School, CARE Management, the Conflict Transformation Collaborative, as well as many others.
After the MLK event, the 1000 paper cranes were exhibited at the Davis Family Library and in the “Through Your Eyes: Storytelling Art Showcase” in the Johnson Mezzanine at Middlebury College. The birds are now nesting at the CCE and at the Scott Center, serving as a reminder of this special event and our community’s shared hopes for justice.
MiddCAM Student Leaders Presented at the National College Board Forum
Middlebury College Access Mentors (MiddCAM) leaders traveled to Austin, TX in October to present on MiddCAM’s mentoring model at the 2024 College Board Forum, which brings together K12 and higher education professionals to talk about pressing issues related to college- and career-readiness. The 2024 College Board Forum was focused on increasing access to college, post-secondary training, and career-ready programs.
CCE Assistant Director Shannon McClain led a panel discussion with MiddCAM Co-Presidents Russell Thorndike ’25 and Elinor Keehn ’25, and Sarah Soule, Middlebury Union High School Post-Secondary Coordinator. The panel shared MiddCAM’s program, which trains volunteer Middlebury College students to provide 1:1 mentorship for high school students during the college application process. The panelists then answered questions from professionals around the country looking to build similar support programs for high schoolers.
For Russell and Elinor, the College Board Forum was their very first conference experience! The team also attended other conference sessions to learn more about supporting high schoolers applying to college and enjoyed exploring Austin in their downtime.
Middlebury Alternative Break Trips Supported Immersive Learning
The CCE supported four Middlebury College Alternative Break trips (MAlt) in February 2025, with 45 student participants. Trip leaders participated in the CCE’s half-credit course taught by Program Director Claire Tebbs, which guides students through planning logistics, Alternative Break goals, and how to engage in meaningful community-engaged learning. Listening and dialogue were major themes across the trips— with community partners, cohorts, and with oneself in deepening self-awareness.
CCE staff and student leaders are planning four trips in February 2026 with 48 student participants. Ten student trip leaders have been selected, and training has begun for that group. The student-designed trips will address environmental justice, economic justice, housing security, and youth and education. Trip leaders will lead pre-trip workshops in January for their trip participants.
CCE Expanded Support for Academic Community Engagement Initiatives
As part of the CCE’s strategic goal to integrate academic pathways to community engagement work, the CCE ramped up its support for faculty who are utilizing community engagement practices in their teaching and research. The CCE awarded five Academic Outreach Endowment grants to faculty, supporting projects including a Pokemon Pop-Up for students in Biology and Mammalogy courses to present their learning in a fun, kid-friendly way and a computer science research project on a summer bikeshare program.
The CCE also hired and advised four Project Assistants (PAs) to work with faculty in several departments to support their community-engaged courses on everything from advising students on their projects, providing resources, and providing outreach to community partners. Four more Project Assistants have been confirmed for the fall of 2025, and that program continues to be a valuable resource for faculty members at Middlebury.
CCE staff also began a discussion with the Middlebury Curriculum Committee to identify and track Middlebury courses with a community engagement tag, providing further visibility for community-engaged courses. The CCE’s Communications team met with Associate Professor of Architecture John McLeod, along with some of his students, about the community-engaged course in which architecture students gain real experience building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Read more about John McLeod’s course and the impact of this course on Middlebury students and the local community.
Community Advisory Board Grows Support for Strategic Goals
The CCE staff gathered in early September for our annual Fall Staff Retreat. Theater artists from Beyond the Page joined us in the morning, leading our team through fruitful and energizing team-building activities. For the remainder of the day, staff built out our 2024-2027 strategic plan, collaborating to build timelines for implementing our strategic objectives and key results for each program area. This process concluded a year of strategic planning, which had been supported by faculty, community partners, and students. Read more about our three-year strategic plan!
The CCE’s Community Advisory Board (CAB), which brings together students, faculty, and community partners, helps support the CCE’s strategic goals and initiatives. The CAB entered its second year with a growing group of community members and faculty interested in playing a role. Since the first meeting in April 2023, the CAB has informed the center’s program and partnership development efforts and played a major role in the development of the CCE’s strategic plan.
This year, the CAB followed a model established last year of hosting one fall and one spring meeting, in addition to a January Community Connections Summit, open to the entire network of community partners, faculty, and students practicing community-engaged work. The CAB also established a new compensated working group that meets more frequently to plan the January Summit, set collaborative agendas for meetings, and bring insights from open meetings to make strategic decisions.
History in Translation Students Engage in Language Access this June
This summer’s History in Translation program just wrapped up. Each summer, the History in Translation (HT) program brings students from diverse linguistic, cultural, and educational contexts together as a purposefully intercultural cohort to explore an historical experience, topic, or event in service of present-day social justice, and the vision of an equitable and inclusive future.
The 2025 History in Translation (HT25) program was a two-week, hands-on experience for students interested in translation, interpretation, and language justice. Students collaborated with Respond Crisis Translation to learn about and experience language access and language justice within immigration, health, and educational systems and settings; responsibilities and strategies of interpreters and translators in high stakes and crisis situations; and learning from (and supporting) those engaged in language access work, advocacy, and research. This summer’s program engaged 13 students: 11 from Middlebury College, one from Tufts University, and one from Georgetown University. Students traveled to community partners located in Boston MA, New Haven CT, and New York NY.
Projects for Peace Continued to Expand Impact and Build Community
Projects for Peace has been busy this spring with several exciting milestones!
In February, the team published the 2024 Annual Viewbook, featuring powerful peacebuilding stories, photos, and interactive maps to bring the 2024 projects to life. Check it out here!
In April, Projects for Peace announced its 2025 grantee cohort consisting of 136 projects nominated by 93 partner institutions. These student-led, community-focused projects will take place over the summer, and many are already underway!
In June, Projects for Peace hosted its second in-person convening for campus liaisons at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Campus liaisons from near and far gathered for three days of learning, discussions, and connection—all centered around this year’s theme: “Place, Connection, and Reflection.”
Projects for Peace, hosted by the CCE, is a global program that partners with educational institutions to identify and support young peacebuilders. Each year, the program grants $1.25 million to student leaders who are developing innovative, community-centered, and scalable responses to the world’s most pressing issues.
The 32nd Annual Patrick J. Durkin ‘79 Public Service Leadership Awards Celebrated Commitment to Public Service
On the evening of May 6, the CCE hosted the 32nd annual Patrick J. Durkin ‘79 Public Service Leadership Awards (PSLA). This anticipated Middlebury tradition celebrates the transformative power of public service and recognizes the work and dedication of students, alums, faculty, and community partners for the public good. This year’s ceremony began with remarks from CCE Director Kailee Brickner-McDonald, Middlebury Interim President Steve Snyder, and Elise Shanbacker ’07, Executive Director of Addison Housing Works.
The CCE recognized fourteen students, faculty, alumni, and community partners for their exemplary leadership in public service, in addition to 27 others who were nominated this year. Among those awarded a Public Service Leadership Award were nine current Middlebury College students, alum and current Vermont State Representative Amy Sheldon ’88, community partners Go for Broke Education Center and Middlebury Union High School, and faculty members Dr. Alexis Mychajliw, Assistant Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, and Dr. Greg Pask, Assistant Professor of Biology.
Thanks to the generosity of the Durkin Fund, the CCE makes a $500 donation on behalf of each recipient to a nonprofit of their choice. As of this year, the CCE has recognized a total of 275 students through these awards and distributed $92,000 to nonprofit organizations designated by the award recipients. As always, the PSLAs were a joyous occasion to collectively acknowledge the positive impact, learning, and connections made through community engagement. We thank all the nominees and award recipients for their passion, vision, and actions that strengthen our communities.
This spring, the CCE caught up with two Middlebury alumni and PSLA award winners, Benjy Renton ’21 (2021 PSLA recipient) and Gabriella Chalker ’24 (2024 PSLA recipient), who now work together as colleagues conducting research for Brown University’s School of Public Health. Learn more about how their deep involvement in community-engaged learning at Middlebury led to their professional connection at Brown–with help from Middlebury’s Director of Global Health, Professor Pam Berenbaum.