Honors Day Awards Recognize Student Leaders in the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement

The Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement works with hundreds of students a year, encouraging future civic leaders to get involved in a broad range of social issues and to build and maintain strong, sustainable community partnerships in Hartford. We are pleased to announce the following recipients of the Community Service and Civic Engagement Honors Day Awards, as we recognize the contributions of all students to the office this year.

The Samuel S. Fishzohn Award for Community Service was established in 1966 in memory of Samuel S. Fishzohn, Class of 1925, a prominent figure in social work and welfare. Awards are given each year to at least one student who has demonstrated initiative and creativity in community service related to important social issues.

Kyle Fields ‘21 and Felicia McDevitt ‘21 are this year’s recipients. 

Fields is President of the student organization Trinity Homelessness Project. “As the Trinity Homelessness Project President for my sophomore and senior years at Trinity, community service has been essential to my Trinity experience. Connecting with partners in the Hartford community to make a positive impact has been extremely rewarding, and I am always glad to get more people involved in community service and engagement,” says Fields.

McDevitt is also a student leader with Trinity Homelessness Project. She joined Trinity Homeless Project in its first semester (Fall 2017), and was an active member of the Trinity Homelessness Project throughout her time at Trinity. Felicia was pivotal to increasing the group’s presence on campus through social media, and helped lead the Menstrual Product Drive in her final semester at Trinity to benefit Mercy Housing and My Sisters’ Place.

The Alexander A. Goldfarb Award for Community Service is awarded jointly by the City of Hartford and Trinity College to the Trinity student who, through community service, has done the most during this current year to benefit the City of Hartford and its citizens.

This year, Alicia Camuy ‘22 was selected for her deep involvement in numerous CHER programs. Camuy says, “I started community service at Trinity through JELLO, where I connected with Place of Grace Food Pantry who I’ve been volunteering with for three years now. I also worked with Knox for park clean-ups. My sophomore fall I studied abroad in Costa Rica as the mentor for Global Start, where I renovated a women’s education center in an underserved community. When I returned, I became the Community Service Chair for La Voz Latina and started working at Trinfo to further connect with the community. Since then, I’ve formed a coalition of MAC Community Service Chairs to foster collaboration and we’ve successfully completed a mask-making initiative providing almost 40 masks for C-town patrons. We’ve also completed SINA and PINK garden clean-ups, voter registration phone banking with CT4D, virtual activism with the Governor’s Council on Climate Change, and a website of activities to keep children occupied during the holiday break and beyond. I will dedicate my life to serving my communities so this is only the beginning.”

The Samuel S. Fishzohn Award for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties was established in 1966 in memory of Samuel S. Fishzohn, Class of 1925, a prominent figure in social work and welfare. The award is given each year to at least one student who has worked with dedication in civil rights, civil liberties or race relations.

Dianté Dancy ‘21 is this year’s recipient. Dancy worked with the Freedom School as a 1st grade teacher and later became a site coordinator for the school in Hartford. He is also a Senior P.R.I.D.E. Leader, Co-Chair of Men of Color Alliance (MOCA) and has been the co-organizer for the Masculinity Project and  Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. He also organizes the breakfast ministry at his place of worship. He has been accepted into a school of ministry in Seattle where he plans to learn and become a reverend as a path to continue his life work of advocating for people from underserved communities.  Dancy says, “To me community service is not about just giving back, it’s letting people in the community know that someone is there and someone will be there. People in the community don’t need or want a hero, they just want consistency.”

The St. Anthony Hall Community Service Award was established by the St. Anthony Trust of Hartford. It is awarded annually to a Trinity College fraternity or sorority member who has demonstrated initiative, creativity, and commitment in the areas of service, activism, and/or civic engagement during the academic year. In conjunction with this award, a financial contribution will be made in the recipient’s name to support a nonprofit organization or community programming initiative of his or her own choosing.

Dana Parker ‘22 and David Marottolo ‘21 are this year’s recipients.

Parker is involved in The Stella Society, a community service organization on campus. This year, she worked to raise money for Interval House and was a top fundraiser for Trinthon. “One of the reasons I chose Trinity was because of its location in Hartford and all of the opportunities for service that came with the location. Since being at Trinity I’ve been able to work closely with nonprofits in Hartford who serve women and children, and I’ve brought those connections back with me to campus. Trinity has so many opportunities for students to engage with the greater community, and taking advantage of those outreach programs have only enhanced my college experience. There are so many wonderful organizations in Hartford looking for more students to get involved, and I can’t recommend those partnerships enough. Community involvement through Trinity has solidified my passion for social justice and working with underserved youth,” says Parker.

Marottolo has been the student leader for Project PACKS. He is a member of the Greek organization Cleo of AX. “Working with Project PACKS during my time at Trinity has been incredibly fulfilling; my hours in the Community Service office are always a moment of calm in the midst of an otherwise busy semester. I am grateful to have been part of the group’s leadership this year, and I am especially glad that we were able to continue assisting the Hartford community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Marottolo.

Congratulations to Kyle, Felicia, Alica, Dianté, Dana, and David! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.