Celebrating Our Seniors

by Sierra Romero

On May 24th, approximately 70 people gathered in the Great Hall in Levering to celebrate the Center for Social Concern’s graduating seniors. Students, family members, staff, and faculty snacked on Hor devours and mingled amongst one another.

The evening began with a welcome from our office’s Executive Director, Dr. Jasmine Blanks Jones. She stressed that the work at the CSC would not be possible without the dedication and passion of the students at Johns Hopkins University.

Following this, alumni Yvette Bailey-Emberson, gave the keynote address. Yvette graduated from Hopkins last year with a degree in Sociology and Spanish and a minor in Social Policy. During her time at JHU, she was a tutor in the Tutorial Project and participated in the Community Impact Internships Program (CIIP) for four summers as an intern, Peer Mentor, and Program Co-Coordinator. Yvette reflected on moments of transition and navigating new chapters after graduation, stressing the importance of following your passions.

Afterwards, seniors were honored for their participation in CSC programming and given a red, black, and gold intertwined chord. The colors themselves were intentionally chosen to represent Baltimore City’s colors and the iconic red door at the CSC office.

While not all of our graduating students were able to attend the celebration Tuesday, the CSC would still like to highlight our involved seniors:

Tutorial Project Seniors

• Oliver Wolff, tutor and Student Organizer with Tutorial Project
• Hope Menard, Tutorial Project student worker for four years
• Swati Kumar, tutor and Student Organizer with Tutorial Project
• Asha Duhan, tutor and Student Organizer with Tutorial Project
• Jane Slaughter, tutor and Student Organizer with Tutorial Project. Slaughter was also a CIIP intern with Impact Hub Baltimore.
• Pow Medina, tutor and Student Organizer with Tutorial Project
• Chris Anchan, tutor, Student Organizer, and Student Director with Tutorial Project
• Giuli Motoa, tutor, Student Organizer, and Student Director with Tutorial Project
• Connor O’Keefe, tutor and Student Organizer with Tutorial Project
• Michelle Schipilliti, tutor and Student Organizer with Tutorial Project
• Ameerah Bello, Tutorial Project student worker for two years
• Isha Ghimire, Tutorial Project student worker for two years

Community Impact Internships Program Seniors

• Caroline Colvin, CIIP intern and Peer Mentor. Colvin worked with DewMore her first summer and Chesapeake Shakespeare Co in 2022.
• Emma Bocanegra, CIIP Intern with the Esperanza Center
• Cecilia Ramirez, CIIP interns with Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition (HEBCAC)
• Jocelyn Shan, CIIP intern with Baltimore Youth Arts
• Mahalia Munalem, CIIP intern with Hampden Family Center
• Teagan Toomre, CIIP intern with Keswick Multi-Care Center
• Lubna Azmi, CIIP intern with Wide Angle Youth Media
• Genesis Aire, CIIP intern and Peer Mentor. Aire worked with Dent her first summer and Public Justice Center in 2022.
• Kerim Bali, CIIP intern with the Office of Councilmember Mark Conway
• Siena Defazio, CIIP intern and Peer Mentor. Defazion worked with No Boundaries Coalition her first summer and Joy Wellness Center in 2022.
• Sigrid Edson, CIIP intern and Peer Mentor. Edson worked with Station North Arts District her first summer and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs in 2022.
• Fatima Elzamzami, CIIP intern with the Franciscan Center
• Ayla Frost, CIIP intern with Station North Tool Library
• Cionne Gates, CIIP intern and Peer Mentor. Gates worked with By Peaceful Means for two summers.
• Jonathan Lee, CIIP intern with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Baltimore
• Kate Overbey, CIIP intern with Greenmount East Leadership Project
• Sophia Park, CIIP intern with Calvin M. Rodwell-Child First Authority
• Christian Paulisich, CIIP intern with DewMore
• Brahein Richardson, CIIP and Peer Mentor. Richardson interned with Black Church Food Security Network in 2022 and 2023.
• Laís Santoro, CIIP intern and Peer Mentor. Santoro worked with Whitelock Community Farm her first summer and Pro Bono Resource Center in 2022.
• Marisa Thomas, CIIP intern with Whitelock Community Farm. Thomas was also a tutor and Student Organizer with Tutorial Project.
• Maria Camila Garcia, CIIP intern and Program Assistant. Garcia worked with Fusion Partnerships her first summer and supported the program through 2022.

HopkinsCorps Seniors

• Alec Gonzaga, student leader with HopkinsCorps for two years. Gonzaga also assisted with CSC Civic Sessions during 2020 and tutored with Tutorial Project his senior year.
• Greta Maras, participant of HopkinsCorps in 2019 and student leader with the pre-orientation program during 2020, 2021, and 2022. Maras was also involved in HopkinsVotes, serving as the Digital Media Coordinator in 2020 and 2021. She was the Student Director of HopkinsVotes during 2022.

Allocations and Recognition Commission Seniors

• Andrea Guillen, Vice Chair of ARC, beginning service her first year at Hopkins. Guillen was also a HopkinsCorps participant in 2019. She was a CIIP intern with the Baltimore City Public Schools in 2020 and a France Merrick Civic Fellowship during the 2021-2022 academic year.
• Sooyeon Park, Allocations and Recognition Commission (ARC) member since 2020. Park served as a Grants Specialist, Vice Chair, and Chair.
• Mikayla Chua, ARC member since 2021. Chua was also a CIIP intern with City Councilman James Torrance

Baltimore First Seniors

• Ashley Tang, Baltimore First volunteer in 2019. Tang also created the Hopkins Engage dashboard that is used by the CSC.
• Sai Chandan Reddy, Baltimore First Student Director of Education and Reflection

In Community Interns

• Alyssa Saunder, In Community Interns (ICI) intern with the Community School for all four years

Other Involved Seniors

• Samanthe Lee, SHARE Mask-Making Program Director and Reading Partners volunteer
• Krystina Huculak, highly involved Democracy Day student worker during 2022

The ceremony ended with final remarks from Associate Director Whit Johnson.

We hope that you leave our event today feeling valued and inspired to continue to care for your community wherever you find yourself in your next adventure of life. – Whit Johnson

Check out all of our photos from the ceremony on our Facebook page or our Instagram page.