Announcing the Service Starts with Summer Program (3SP) Cohort Leaders!

June 13, 2019

We are excited to announce the inaugural Cohort Leaders for the Service Starts with Summer Program (3SP) at Harvard College. 3SP Cohort Leaders will support 3SP students with leadership development and reflection throughout the summer. More about the Cohort Leaders Hillary McLauchlin (Class of 2020), Dani Pérez (Class of 2021), Scotty Kall (Class of 2020), and Alexa Brown (Class of 2020) below!

 

Hillaryy Hillary McLauchlin

Class of 2020

Concentration(s): History & Literature, East Asian

Studies

Hometown(s): Tampa, FL

Pronouns: she/her/hers

What are your plans for the summer? Where will you be and what will you be doing? This summer I will be working in Washington, DC as an Operations Intern for Coding it Forward, a non-profit that promotes civic tech by providing opportunities for students to apply their technological skills to projects with social impact. My work will be focused on executing the third year of the organization's Civic Digital Fellowship internship program as it continues to expand. I'm looking forward to finally having the chance to explore DC (send any recommendations my way!) before heading back to Cambridge to (hopefully)start thinking about thesis research as well as spend time with friends & family.

Briefly, what are some of your previous/current involvements with public service during your time at Harvard? While at Harvard, I have served on the PBHA Service to Society First-Year Council and been involved with the Harvard Chinatown ESL program as both an English teacher and director. Another highlight from my time at Harvard has been serving as a PAF in Wigglesworth B! I've spent the past two summers working for NGOs (an education non-profit in Shanghai and a think tank in Boston as an IOP Director's Intern) thanks to really great Harvard programs focused on public service.

In this current moment, what are you most excited about? I'm currently super excited about the DC bucket list I've been busy compiling (and my imminent trip to get cupcakes in Georgetown), starting my summer job, and meeting all of you! I'm also more generally excited--and terrified--about being a senior next year, but look forward to having a chance to get to know the class of 2023 this summer.

Where, in what, or in whom do you find hope? Music and art have always been a source of hope for me, and I'm a strong believer in the important role that art and media play in bringing about social change. Theater/musical performances, museums, and seeing the ways in which artistic expression shapes communities has always inspired and energized me.

What is a book or two (that you haven't read yet) that you've been meaning to read? Two of the many books I've been hoping to find time to read are Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse (I'm trying to make my way through my English concentrator friends' reading lists) and Anne Harrington's (my house's faculty dean) new book Mind Fixers.

What's something you own (a physical object) that is personally meaningful to you? Why is it meaningful? While in high school and college I have kept a journal that has you write a sentence every day. It's been really interesting to look back to see what I was doing exactly a year before and the subtle changes that take place. It's been a great way to reflect on my time in school and not forget memories that might not otherwise be documented.

If your personality were to manifest as a kitchen utensil, what would it be and why? While not a super original answer, I have to say a fork just because my ten-year old self decided to dress-up as a fork for Halloween because the costume came with a cool hat. So I guess you could say my personality did actually manifest itself as a kitchen utensil at one point.

What's something about you (biographical fact, ability, talent, belief, opinion, etc.) that often take other people by surprise? That I'm from Florida because I get sunburned so easily!

 

dani

Dani Pérez

Class of 2021

Concentration(s): History and Literature

Hometown(s): Hallock, MN and Valencia, Venezuela

Pronouns: She/they

 

What are your plans for the summer? Where will you be and what will you be doing? I’m currently studying abroad for five weeks in Mexico City, which is my favorite city so far. Then I’ll be going home to Minnesota to spend time with family and (hopefully) film a short documentary about the celebration of queer identity at church.

Briefly, what are some of your previous/current involvements with public service during your time at Harvard? I was part of the Service to Society Freshman Council my first year. For the past two years, I’ve taught theatre arts to elementary students in Cambridge through a PBHA after-school program called STAGE, which I’m excited to co-direct this year. I’m also a part of the Memorial Church Grants Committee, which grants funding to public service organizations in the Greater Boston Area.

In this current moment, what are you most excited about? I’m most excited to see the ocean in a couple weeks! Where, in what, or in whom do you find hope? I find hope in my faith, my grandma, my five-year-old brother, and my communities.

What is a book or two (that you haven't read yet) that you've been meaning to read? The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

What's something you own (a physical object) that is personally meaningful to you? Why is it meaningful? My camera is probably the object that means the most to me. My family pitched in to gift it to me a few years ago, and I take it everywhere I travel. I feel like photography is the art form that I most pour myself into, and it makes me feel so happy and grounded.

If your personality were to manifest as a kitchen utensil, what would it be and why? An ice cream scooper. I love helping people get to whatever makes them happy. I also highkey just want to be close to ice cream at any time.

Write your abbreviated personal mission statement, or your motto at this point in your life, in one sentence. (<30 words) Love, give, and serve joyously and generously, using what you have to build loving community, help those who need it, and work for a greater, all-inclusive good.

What's something about you (biographical fact, ability, talent, belief, opinion, etc.) that often take other people by surprise? I lost my last tooth when I was 16 years old in the bathroom of a Detroit hotel room.

 

scotty

Scotty Kall

Class of 2020

Concentration(s): Sociology

Hometown(s): Hudson, MA

Pronouns: He/him/his

 

What are your plans for the summer? Where will you be and what will you be doing? Until June 30, I'll be on campus doing a variety of things. I'm giving tours of Harvard for Trademark Tours, starting thesis work, helping do some prep work for the First-Year Arts Program, and running the script comp for the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. Then from June 30-August 10, I'll be in NYC doing a 6-week acting intensive at Atlantic Acting School.

Briefly, what are some of your previous/current involvements with public service during your time at Harvard? Freshman year I was a part of the education policy research team through the IOP, and my team helped put together a 65 page report about college sexual assault survey policies that we gave to an MA state legislator. I then spent a while working with a team of other students on an independent social innovation project called NEXT, which was designed to promote youth community engagement through mentorship (we managed to get through our pilot class of 'fellows' and one semester of regular fellows). This past year, I was a liaison for Brittany Packnett at the IOP and I also taught civics this year through IOP CIVICS, and joined the curriculum committee as well.

In this current moment, what are you most excited about? I'm really excited for senior year! It's my last year at Harvard, so I want to make the most of it. Where, in what, or in whom do you find hope? The young people of this country who I have faith will make this country, and world, a better place. For example, I was helping out with the second IOP CIVICS field trip, where we brought students from one of our partner schools to campus and ran a CIVICS lesson with them. These fifth grade students from under-resourced schools were talking about combatting the wage gap, mass incarceration, and gun violence. In fifth grade!! I didn't even know what any of that was, and these kids wanted to writeletters to members of Congress to get them to help tackle these problems. THAT gives me hope.

What is a book or two (that you haven't read yet) that you've been meaning to read? I desperately need to read 'Becoming' by Michelle Obama!!

What's something you own (a physical object) that is personally meaningful to you? Why is it meaningful? It's an old stuffed teddy bear I still have at home. It means a lot to me because my grandpa won it for me in a claw machine, and that was the last time I saw him before he passed away. 

If your personality were to manifest as a kitchen utensil, what would it be and why? Definitely a spork cos it's like quirky and fun but still figuring out what it can best be used for. Write your abbreviated personal mission statement, or your motto at this point in your life, in one sentence. (<30 words) Be unapologetically yourself, today and every day.

What's something about you (biographical fact, ability, talent, belief, opinion, etc.) that often take other people by surprise? I hiccup like a pterodactyl lol (weird fact but it's my go-to and I'm sure people will hear it eventually).

 

alexa

Alexa Brown

Class of 2020

Concentration(s): Sociology and African American Studies

joint concentration, Education Studies secondary

Hometown(s): Springfield, IL

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

 

What are your plans for the summer? Where will you be and what will you be doing? I am a director for Roxbury Youth Initiative (RYI), an educational enrichment summer camp serving 80 children, ages 6-13 from the Roxbury area.

Briefly, what are some of your previous/current involvements with public service during your time at Harvard? I have directed RYI and RYI Term Time for two years, I was a counselor for Mission Hill After School Program, a prison tutor, advocacy board member, and Outreach Director for Harvard Organization for Prison Education and Advocacy (HOPE), a First Year Day of Service lead, and I directed a free SAT prep course for first gen, low income students through a non-profit called Let's Get Ready. In this current moment, what are you most excited about? I am most excited to see all my kids again when camp starts on July 1!!

Where, in what, or in whom do you find hope? I find hope in the faces of my campers, siblings, and children everywhere. What is a book or two (that you haven't read yet) that you've been meaning to read? I have been meaning to read Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond and Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence Of Racism by Derrick Bell.

What's something you own (a physical object) that is personally meaningful to you? Why is it meaningful? I have an engraved star thing my mom sent me for my 21st birthday that has since meant the world to me. 

If your personality were to manifest as a kitchen utensil, what would it be and why? It would be a blender because I spend a lot of time taking things and combining them into functioning units.

Write your abbreviated personal mission statement, or your motto at this point in your life, in one sentence. (<30 words) Organized people beat organized power every time.

What's something about you (biographical fact, ability, talent, belief, opinion, etc.) that often take other people by surprise? I have nine tattoos and twelve siblings.