Students present on community IMPACT on national stage

Seven student leaders of the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) showcased the fruits of their community involvement at the IMPACT National Conference in Cincinnati, OH, from Feb 18 to Feb 22.

The conference is the nation’s largest convention focused on civic engagement by university students and administrators. Eastern’s CCE student leaders each presented on their volunteer work in the Willimantic/Windham school districts. 

Junior pre-elementary education major Josie Udell and junior biology major Isabelle McClelland spoke on the methods they used in their respective after-school programs to help fit the needs of the communities they serve. 

“Program planning is such a big part of after‑school (volunteer) work,” said Udell. “Every time we enter a program, we bring something intentional that meets the kids where they are.”  

“Since we’ve been so involved in after‑school programming, meaningful engagement just made sense — it’s where we’ve seen the biggest impact,” added McClelland. “For Windham Middle School especially, it’s about creating a safe space and a sense of belonging during a time when they’re figuring out who they are.” 

CCE Community Engagement Coordinator Lexie Mastroianni and junior early childhood education major Kathryn Whewell’s work compared the school districts that the CCE caters to in order to deduce the best resources for the children. 

“We compared schools that are two minutes apart, yet have completely different resources,” said Whewell. “Some of our second graders in Mansfield are already reading chapter books, while kids the same age in other districts struggle with basic words.” 

Mastroianni added, “We started two brand‑new programs in Windham — “Book Buddies” and “Pen Pals” — and they’ve already had a huge impact. The goal of our presentation is (to demonstrate) ways to expand CCE programs so they can support literacy in more communities.”

Junior business information systems major Aly Kazmier teamed up with junior psychology major Gia Marmo and junior business administration major Emily Conte to present on the impact of working with community partners and volunteers and the relationships cultivated in the process. 

Kazmier explained that providing mentorship at Natchaug Elementary School was a highly effective way to establish relationships with the children and extend compassion to them. 

“It allowed me to start becoming who I wanted to become — speaking up more, stepping into leadership, and growing into the space I knew I could create for myself,” she said. “Having an open ear and a sense of understanding is what really makes an impact.” 

Marmo said that her experience at Project Hope, an organization catering to the homeless, showed how working with new groups of people she hadn’t worked with before changed her perspective on community leadership. 

“I originally wanted to work with children and teenagers, but Project Hope really opened my eyes to working with adults in vulnerable populations,” she said. “It made me consider going into social work instead of psychology after graduation.” 

Conte’s leadership at Journey House, a treatment facility for adolescent girls, highlighted the vulnerability her age group faces and how she connects with people who have gone through similar experiences she once did. 

“Mentorship and discipleship are really my passion and joy. Working through the CCE has helped me not only serve but bring other Eastern students into that experience,” she said. 

She continued: "Mentorship is about giving others a mentor and a friend.”