Courtney Aquadro, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

The Boys and Girls Club of Geneva, whose mission is to ‘connect and empower all people in our community, especially young people who need us most, to reach their full potential,’ collaborates with 50 Hobart and William Smith Colleges student volunteers on a weekly basis. Courtney Aquadro’s consistent trajectory of involvement and leadership has positively impacted both the capacity of the Boys and Girls Club Volunteer Corps and the depth of relationships formed between K-12 students and Hobart and William Smith Colleges volunteers.  
-Mark Gearan, President

Service-learning courses, including Economics of Caring and Teaching Children with Disabilities, have really helped me bring to the forefront what it means to actually care about all individuals. I came to the conclusion that it is great to have five volunteers a day, but it doesn’t really mean anything if they are not actively caring and forming relationships. Course work, infused with hands-on learning in partnership with local children and agency leaders, helped me focus on the idea that there needs to be a resolution by the end of the caring process. 
I am striving to really push the volunteers to leave their comfort zone and actively be there for the members.  
-Courtney Aquadro