Students on board

Dickinsonians volunteer with United Way Board and Carlisle Borough Council.

October 24, 2006

Sean Diamond '08, a nonvoting Carlisle borough council member, and Bernadette McFadden '07, a member of the United Way Board of Directors, find pleasure in volunteering in the local community and preparing for their post-graduation endeavors.

It's a simple philosophy.

"In four years, there is plenty of time to make a difference," says Bernadette McFadden '07. She is one of three student members of the United Way of Carlisle & Cumberland County Board of Directors.

She, like Sean Diamond '08, who is a nonvoting student member of the Carlisle borough council, have unique opportunities to volunteer in the community in positions often reserved for college graduates.

Policy studies in the "real" world

This is the first year that students from Dickinson, The Penn State Dickinson School of Law and Shippensburg University have been asked to be a part of the nonprofit board.

McFadden sees it as an opportunity to put her classroom theory to work for the Carlisle community.

She is part of the committee that evaluates member agencies to determine funding levels.

The students are full members of the board with voting rights and committee responsibilities, explains Jeff Conway, executive director of the United Way of Carlisle & Cumberland County.

"We decided to include the students because we feel the board of directors for our United Way should be as inclusive as possible," Conway says. "Our feeling is that whether they stay in our immediate area after graduation or not, they will be better educated and more involved people wherever they end up living."

Next on the agenda

When she graduates in May, McFadden, a policy-management major who has completed the pre-health requirements, says her dream job would be in the public-health policy field, formulating health systems for marginalized communities, particularly for children from low-income households.

She already has worked toward that goal with a summer internship with the state's Department of Health.

While she's applying to grad schools and hasn't ruled out attending medical school, McFadden also is applying for jobs in state government and is looking at positions in Washington, D.C. She notes, "I'm keeping my options open."

A seat on the council

As a physics major, Diamond may seem like an unlikely politician, but that hasn't slowed him down. In addition to his seat on Carlisle's borough council, he serves as the Student Senate secretary and last year was chair of the Constitutional Affairs and Election Committee (CAEC).

Diamond was sworn in on Oct. 12 as a nonvoting member of the borough council, along with a student from The Penn State Dickinson School of Law.

Carlisle Borough Manger Fred Bean has said that the inclusion of a Dickinson College student on the council has been successful and led to the inclusion of a student from the law school. "We get to hear a voice we don't usually hear."

Diamond also attends meetings of the High I committee. High I refers to the two blocks of West High Street that serve as a mutual gateway between the college and the town and is the initial focus of downtown revitalization efforts.

"A lot of it is making the downtown more student-friendly," he says, such as encouraging shops to stay open later.

Diamond was appointed to council for the year but will be at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, for his spring semester, which means another student will be appointed to finish out his term. When he is back on campus in fall 2007, Diamond wants to resume his council duties.

Science and politics

Regardless of his fate on Carlisle's council, Diamond's post-graduation plans include working for a governmental body or pursuing elected office.

He feels that his science background will be an asset, enabling him to review science-oriented legislation or to assess policies for offices like the Environmental Protection Agency.

Giving back

Last academic year alone, Dickinsonians provided 31,077 hours of community service to various nonprofit organizations from the Girl Scouts to Habitat for Humanity.

"It's so important to take ownership of our community," McFadden says. "Once I got involved in this community, I actually felt like I lived here."

In addition to individual volunteer opportunities, most students in campus organizations provide or perform some sort of community service, whether it be raising funds or physical labor, says Gretchen Symons, director of student activities.

"The fact that so many unsung heroes are found throughout the Dickinson community is a testament to the character and compassion of our students," Symons adds. "We know service to one's community is an essential characteristic of good citizenship, and good citizenship is the essence of being a Dickinsonian."