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Service Symposium with Keynote Tim Shriver of Special Olympics
From Alexandra Truwit '18 and Thaise Sudano '18:
On November 8, Thaise Sudano '18, Alexandra Truwit '18, and Director of Character Education Kate Parker-Burgard, hosted the Center for Leadership's 6th Annual St. Luke’s Service Symposium. The goal is to encourage Upper School students to find meaningful ways to make a difference in the lives of others by informing them of and inspiring them with different opportunities offered by nonprofit organizations. These organizations included: DOMUS, Special Olympics, Abilis, the Carver Center, Fallen Patriots, Inspirica, Kids Helping Kids, Neighbor’s Link, Person to Person, New Canaan Young Philanthropists, Sexual Assault Crisis Center, Stamford Youth Tennis Academy, the Fund for Women and Girls, Volunteer Square, and Waveny Cares.
The organizations' breakout sessions were preceded by our keynote speaker, Tim Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics International. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale and graduate degree from the Yale School of Divinity. He also has his Ph.D. in Education. Shriver had many possible career options, and chose to devote his life to serving others. He perfectly exemplifies St. Luke’s motto, Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve. He is a committed educator, a devoted non-profit leader, and an inspiration to many. In his speech, he touched on many aspects of service—from eliminating labels and preconceived notions about people to understanding that we get more than we give when we serve others. His speech was well-received, and several students and teachers said he was "the best keynote speaker we’ve ever had."
To conclude the Service Symposium, St. Luke’s students Ajit Akole '18, Gracie Zaro '17, Kristen Beaumonte '18, Kate Stamoulis '18, Hannah Haden '18, and Adiah Price-Tucker '18 shared their service experiences and the impact it has had on them. Their service ranged from Ajit’s work with Uplift India to Gracie’s work with children at Inspirica to Kristen and Kate’s work with the homeless through YSOP (Youth Services Opportunities Project) during the CFL Washington, D.C. Service trip, to Hannah’s training of animals at ECAD (Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities) to Adiah’s participation in Horizons. By hearing our very own students talk about the service that they do, other’s were able to draw inspiration from their examples, ultimately conveying the message to get involved in service in their community as well.
The day concluded with advisory reflections, in which students discussed different aspects of the day, including the service opportunities and the speakers throughout the day. The 2016 Service Symposium helped further engender a desire to serve, as many of the nonprofits that ran our workshops received multiple sign-ups for volunteer opportunities. Ultimately, students walked away from the 2016 Service Symposium with a new service mentality and a desire to get involved in more service in their communities.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
