Citizen Schools Celebrates Community, Partnership and Student Success with WOW!NOW Breakfast at JFK Library
On Friday June 1, Citizen Schools’ diverse community of volunteer Citizen Teachers, corporate and community partners, AmeriCorps Teaching Fellows, students, family and friends gathered at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in celebration of the impressive work of our students, Teaching Fellows and volunteer Citizen Teachers over the last year.
This work was on display in our WOW!NOW exhibit, where students presented their final projects - the culmination of their semester-long apprenticeships - to a room full of guests including Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Tommy Chang, Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell, Senator Mo Cowan and more. Students from nearly all Citizen Schools Massachusetts campuses presented their work alongside partners from Biogen, Pillpack, Northeastern, Sole Train, Action Civics, Liberty Mutual, John Hancock, Thermo Fisher and Google.
Dr. Tommy Chang took to the stage in celebration of the 22-year partnership between Citizen Schools and Boston Public Schools, and called on the corporate community of Boston to “Open up your doors to young people,” noting “you can’t be what you can’t see.”
Keynote speaker Mohamad Ali, CEO & President of Carbonite, shared his personal journey from childhood immigrant to the United States to becoming the head of a successful global high-tech company. He recounted the powerful mentors and teachers in his middle and high school years that influenced his path, pushed him to work hard, and assured him that ‘he could do anything’. Speaking directly to the students in the audience he offered this advice:
“Pursue your interests passionately. Work hard, stay honest, and try to make a difference in the world.”
The morning concluded with an awards presentation honoring members of our Massachusetts community.
We would like to thank everyone who joined us for a memorable morning, and to all our sponsors, including Leader Sponsors: BNY Mellon, Fiduciary Trust, John Moriarty & Associates, and WilmerHale.
Citizen Schools Massachusetts Award-Winners:
Citizen Teacher of the Year
Peter Tobani, Corporate Counsel-Global Retail Markets, Liberty Mutual
Presented by Andrea Campbell, Boston City Council President
Community Partner of the Year
MediaGirls
Presented by Connie DeBoever, Director, Mellon Asset Management North America, BNY Mellon
Teaching Fellow of the Year
Chautel Wilson
Presented by Sydney Chaffee, Citizen Schools Teaching Fellow Alumnus and 2017 MA & National Teacher of the Year
Corporate Partner of the Year
Fidelity Investments
Presented by Senator William Maurice Cowan, Vice President, Global Litigation & Legal Policy, GE
Thank you to our ADDITIONAL event sponsors:
CHANGEMAKERS
CHAMPIONS
AAFCPAs
Alix Partners
Anne Bailey Berman & Roger Berman
Hays Companies
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Jones Day
Leggat McCall Properties
Liberty Mutual
McCall & Almy
Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky + Popeo PC
National Grid
Nellie Mae Education Foundation
Roger and Lisa Krakoff Family Foundation
Shire
Todd & Kristen Eckler
ADVOCATES
Akhil Nigam
GE Foundation
Gilbane Building Company
Laurie Endlar Lee
Katherine O'Leary
Red Sox Foundation
Ultimate Software