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Students kept busy as they wrapped up the fall semester and over winter break. Read about what some of them did.

Nine students spent part of their winter break teaming up with Maxwell Akuamoah-Boateng ’09 on a community service project in Philadelphia. Akuamoah-Boateng, who serves as the city’s director of operations for community schools, organized the Alternate Break (AXB) trip that focused on youth engagement/urban service.

Katie Rockford ’24 first heard about the Harvest, a popular student-powered food-salvage program on campus aimed at tackling local food insecurity issues, from upperclass students during the pandemic. Passionate about environmental and social justice issues herself, Rockford wanted to bring the program back following its necessary COVID-19 hiatus, but knew she’d need a lot of help to make it happen.

Hamilton College’s Alternative Break (AXB) service trips returned this year for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with three student groups spending their time away from campus helping communities in North Carolina, Ohio, and Delaware.

Each year, a group of dedicated students are selected by the Community Outreach & Opportunity Project (COOP) as senior fellows whose job it is to connect students with volunteer opportunities, building a bridge between the Hill and the local community. For 2021-22, the senior fellows are Casey Brown, Mackenzie Christensen, Lila Kirchhoff, and Amy Zhai.

Avery Lum ’22 had big plans this summer to take on a full-time fellowship with otolaryngologist Daniel Roberts ’97 at UConn. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Instead of taking the summer off, Lum devised a fall-back plan.

HAVOC’s 22nd Annual MLK Jr. Day of Service drew 125 students on Jan. 25 to volunteer in Clinton, New Hartford, Utica, and Rome. Hamilton Association for Volunteering, Outreach and Charity (HAVOC) is part of the COOP, which oversees community service opportunities.

Since the day she arrived on campus, Anyi Rescalvo ’22 knew she wanted to give back to marginalized communities during her time at Hamilton. A daughter of immigrant parents, Rescalvo says she found the perfect way to do this — by teaching English to immigrants and refugees.

Hamilton students recently spent a day at the Linwood Place Community Garden in Utica cleaning out the planting beds and preparing the grounds for winter.

Through the Hamilton Alternative Break program, a group of students traveled to Double H Ranch in Lake Luzerne, N.Y., over fall break to volunteer at Double H’s Comfort Camp Weekend. Double H Ranch is a SeriousFun network camp that offers year-round programs for children and the families of children with serious or chronic illnesses.