This summer, inspired by breaking events around them, members of the Hill community contributed to make changes to their surroundings. Faced by numerous obstacles during this particularly difficult time, these activists were not discouraged from seizing every opportunity to make a difference: ranging from holding virtual meetings that discuss meaningful topics with peers, Pennsylvania senators, and representatives, to helping to fight against the pandemic in a local community.

If any of you are interested in joining to make a change, reach to those activists for more information!

Mofe Akinyanmi ’21 & Kendal Thomas ’21

Aiming to create an open platform for peers to exchange their thoughts and experiences, Mofe Akinyanmi ’21, who works as the arts and leisure editor for Hill News, and Kendal Thomas ’21 led a club called SAFE (Students Advocating For Equality) this summer. While the first few meetings were centered on the events around the death of George Floyd, their conversations later extended to economics, cancel culture, gentrification, discrimination, and so on. 

Beginning with the protests in Minnesota, Akinyanmi and Thomas have since gathered peers to discuss many different topics. The process was not easy.  “There were some meetings that were more well-attended than others, which was to be expected due to the clashing schedules of the summer months. In the beginning, we had some difficulty prompting productive conversations,” Akinyanmi said. This did not discourage them from reaching their goals. “Kendal and I took a few different approaches to make sure that we could craft conversations that would not only be educational but expose our club members to a variety of opinions and perspectives,” Akinyanmi explained.

Akinyanmi and Thomas valued their experience with SAFE, as they learned about the importance of listening and accepting different values. In the future, they hope to focus more on the local government in Pottstown and would like to invite anyone interested in joining. Email them at [email protected] and [email protected].

Jasroop Dhingra ’21

Jasroop Dhingra ’21 was an intern at the Borgen Project, a nonprofit organization that addresses poverty and hunger, working towards eliminating such concerns through U.S. policies. The Borgen Project also contributes to educating others about U.S. policies and helping the world’s poor, “It is estimated that for every dollar the organization receives, it has helped 92 people around the globe,” Dhingra said. In the summer, Dhingra attended meetings with Pennsylvania senators and representatives, urging them to protect international affairs and pitch to them the new bills she supported. 

“I was looking for summer opportunities to stay busy and, once I found the Borgen Project, I decided I wanted to get involved,” Dhingra remarked, adding that she loved this experience. “I realized that it is a lot easier to get in touch with your representatives and how reaching out to them actually does make a difference.”

Chelsea Mills ’22

Chelsea Mills ’22 stayed in The Gambia in West Africa, to visit her father for a few months. Seeing her father work tirelessly to provide Gambia’s Ministry of Health with funds and resources during COVID-19 motivated Mills to help as well. She helped ensure safety throughout The Gambia by distributing sanitation supplies to small businesses and spreading awareness about COVID-19 to local communities. 

Remarkably, the process was not easy because of cultural barriers. “At first, I found it hard to relate to a community that I had previously considered to be foreign. I didn’t speak Wolof, Gambia’s national language, and I also wasn’t a part of their mostly Islamic community,” Mills recalled. “On top of this, my American clothing style also made me stand out like a sore thumb. For this reason, I was required to wear long sleeves and pants while I volunteered.”

Mills was grateful for her experience, as she realized how her small act of volunteering could help some people. “The Red Cross was very grateful for its volunteers, and I plan on helping whenever I visit again.”

“I have been fortunate enough to experience a privileged life in the United States, which is something that I have taken for granted,” Mills expressed her feelings after her volunteering in The Gambia. “Especially amongst a pandemic, we need to be grateful for the resources that we have available to us.”

Edward Deng ’21

Edward Deng ‘21 and his sister devoted themselves to helping a local business pack essential medical devices to reduce backorders. Partnered with a local church, their police department organized a community service project for disadvantaged Hispanic families. Deng and his sister volunteered to bring used books and toiletries like toilet paper, stamps, detergent, etc. Deng helped package and hand out these items, and he also helped carry things for those who couldn’t do by themselves. “The community members were great people and it was rewarding to help give out essentials during this tough time,” Deng said.

Deng, his sister, and his mother also contributed to packing and labeling for a warehouse owner who distributed pulse oximeters, devices that are used to read the level of oxygen in the blood to detect respiratory illnesses. At the start of the pandemic, as the warehouse’s workers couldn’t come and more people were buying his medical devices, Deng decided to give a hand. Even though “packaging items for hours at a time in a cramped warehouse sucked,” Deng found it worthwhile. “It helped make a difference. It not only helped the business keep its door open but also helped get these essential devices into the hands of those who needed them.”

Reflecting on what he did this summer, Deng expressed, “I genuinely enjoyed this experience, and given the chance, I would definitely do it again. One thing that I learned is that it really does feel better giving than getting.”