MC Honors Students Making a Difference at Home & Abroad

One of the pillars of the Honors Program is its dedication to instilling the value of service in its students. From the Honors Program Mack Gives Back team that assembles each year for the annual school-wide service event to the service learning component built into the program’s requirements, Honors Students not only learn the importance of service to the Merrimack community but also its effect on social justice on a larger scale. Two of the Honors Program student leaders have taken on the responsibility of taking the Honors Program dedication to service way past the borders of North Andover, Massachusetts.

This upcoming May, Megan Sheppard and Tyler Andrade, both of the class of 2018, will be leading the Merrimack College Honors Program in a pilot international service immersion experience in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. They will be leading ten students and two staff members to work with underprivileged students for a week to help them develop and improve their English skills.

In addition to being a part of a Capstone project by Merrimack Honors Program Manager, Lisa Cavallaro, this trip provides a wonderful opportunity for the Honors Program and its students to broaden their sense of service to others, especially internationally. This trip is entirely student-led, from researching a social justice issue, a destination, and a way to combat the issue, to logistics planning and fundraising. Megan Sheppard and Tyler Andrade exemplify the hardwork and dedication that has become synonymous with Honors Program students. With the success of this worthwhile experience, it is hoped that international service immersion trips will continue and expand in future years of the Honors Program.

Good luck to everyone and thank you for your dedication to service! The following is a list of students attending this service trip: Tyler Andrade ’18, Ali Calistri ’19, LeAnn DiMauro ’18, Amshula Dividkar ’17, Alexa Emma ’18, Hannah Gillis ’18, Justine Levesque ’19, Caitlin McGowan ’19, Casey Ouillette ’18, Dylan Scott ’18, Morgan Sewall ’19, and Megan Sheppard ’18.