Six members of the Class of 2023 participated in a signing ceremony on Tuesday to formalize their participation in the service-year program offered by Elon in partnership with local organizations. Six fellows who have completed their year of service were also recognized.
Six members of the Class of 2023 gathered with friends and family in Clohan Theatre in the Inman Admissions Welcome Center on Tuesday to formally begin what will be a year of service working in organizations that support the residents of Alamance County.
These new Elon graduates will spend the coming year as Elon Year of Service Fellows with roles that will focus on the health and well-being of Alamance County as well as furthering educational success and economic opportunity in partnership with six community organizations. This is the ninth cohort of Elon alumni to participate in the unique collaboration that is designed to lend support to these community partners while delivering a valuable professional experience to the fellows. The program is jointly funded by the university and the community partners and is co-chaired by Laurie Judge, senior associate director of career services in Elon’s Student Professional Development Center, and Lexy Roberts ’19, executive director of Alamance Achieves.
Tuesday’s event was an opportunity to look ahead at what the new fellows will accomplish during the next year, and it was also a chance to look back at the achievements of the 2022-2023 cohort of fellows. Since their graduation from Elon last May, members of the program’s eighth cohort — Isabella DeLaGarza, Taylor Russ, Sarah Peake, Jazmin Campbell, Grace Holmes and Toni Parker — have been honing their professional skills, developing new connections with the community and working to promote health, wellness and education throughout Alamance County. They’ve become productive members of the teams at Alamance Achieves, Healthy Alamance, Impact Alamance, the Alamance County Health Department, the City of Burlington’s Economic Development Department and Alamance Regional Medical Center.
Jim Piatt, senior vice president for university advancement and external affairs, drew parallels between the oak tree — “Elon” is the Hebrew word for oak — and the impact that the Year of Service Graduate Fellow program has on the community and those who participate. The roots of the oak are vital to the tree and to the ecosystem more broadly, just as the connections fostered through the fellows program enhance the community, Piatt said. “We stand stronger when we are connected by our roots,” he said.
Preston Hammock, senior vice president and a regional president for Cone Health, was among those who came together a decade ago to lay the groundwork for the program. Hammock was head of Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington at the time, and he shared how thrilling it was to see an initial conversation with President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert and former Provost Steven House turn into such an impactful program. “What this is about is seeking what making change in a community means at a practical level,” Hammock said Tuesday. “The real magic is seeing how to turn possibilities into action.”
Fellows who were concluding their service offered their thoughts on how they had grown, what they had learned and what lies next for them as they conclude their service. Themes running through their comments were those of connection, community, empowerment, confidence and contribution. Several noted how daunting the work ahead had seemed days or weeks into their service year, only to find themselves settling into the work as time went on.
During the past year, they would oversee grant applications securing hundreds of thousands of dollars in support for vital community programs. They would present program updates to local government officials and visit other communities to learn insights that would impact their work. And the group would grow closer to their mentors, to each other and to the Alamance County community.
“Over the past year, I have learned more about Alamance County than I did in the four years prior,” Campbell told those gathered in Clohan Theatre. “Through this fellowship, I have gained confidence, trust in my skills and my knowledge above all.”
Following a presentation of gifts to the outgoing fellows, the new fellows joined their new mentors in signing the commitment agreement to close the ceremony. They will begin their new roles following Commencement on Friday, May 19.
2023-24 Elon Year of Service Fellows
Megan Curling, Cone Health and Alamance Regional Medical Center
- Majors: Public Health Studies and Journalism
Shauna Galvin, Impact Alamance
- Major: Public Health Studies
Madi Gilgo, Harwood Institute
- Majors: Journalism and Strategic Communications
- Minors: Psychology and Leadership Studies
Moriah Griffin, Alamance Achieves
- Major: Political Science and Policy Studies
- Minor: African and African-American Studies
Lily Kays, City of Burlington Economic Development Department
- Majors: Political Science
- Minors: Theatre arts and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Ashley Pehan, Alamance County Health Department
- Majors: Chemistry and Spanish