It is our joy to share with you that Anthony Siracusa is now the CCE’s Assistant Director!

Anthony’s promotion aims to honor and value the role he has increasingly played in the office this year – which really has been assisting the direction of the office. The role of the “Engaged Learning Specialist” was envisioned to coordinate student programs with learning components, and Anthony has excelled at doing so – yet alongside this, he has taken a leadership role in directing the student-facing work of the office more broadly by increasingly guiding and advising other CCE staff.  He played an integral role in shaping the direction of the office throughout our strategic planning process and continues to shape our direction in thoughtful, deliberate ways.  And, he is a strong representative and advocate for the CCE throughout the institution.

Anthony brought with him and continues to cultivate a strong background in student learning in the classroom, experience in building curriculum for civic development programs alongside the classroom, and draws on his research interests to inform and center this work.

You can learn more about Anthony by visiting his staff bio page here.

We are ever grateful that Anthony has joined our staff and thankful for the ways in which he has built capacity for community engagement work at the college. Please join us in congratulating Anthony!

Jordan Radke
CCE Director

Each year, students interested in pursuing a project to engage with and support their community can apply for mini-grants from the CCE. Financed by the William P. Dean Memorial Fund, any student-led initiative which works with a community nonprofit partner to address a social need is eligible. Here, we take a closer look at one of those projects.

CC members repping their Girls Skate Club spirit.

Jane Hatfield, a first year student, started Girls Skate Club upon her arrival at CC. Recognizing her own passions overlapping with a widely held desire from women across campus to learn the practice, she quickly sprung into action, inventing an environment where she could use her own experience to benefit others.

“As a predominantly male sport, the mission of Girl’s Skate Club is to encourage and create a safe space in which young girls can learn and practice skateboarding,” Jane explained in her application. “Through this, we hope to reject traditional stereotypes of femininity by showing young girls it’s okay to be confident, outspoken, and passionately dedicated to something as simple as a skateboard trick.”

Girls at the YMCA get creative with the club’s board painting event.

After seeing the success of the club on-campus, Jane decided to expand her sphere of influence and use her privilege as a CC student to help out children in the community. Connecting with the YMCA after school program, the Girls Skate Club now also aims to help out younger girls who have the same interest. Hosting events for the members such as spray-painting skateboards and writing cards to their role models, the positive impact which this club has had on the community is already beginning to show.

Given that the YMCA relies solely on donations, Jane plans to use her funding to take some of the financial burden off by supplying boards, helmets and knee-pads for the program. There are now 50 members of CC Girls Skate Club and around 20 girls participating in the YMCA after school program.

One member shows off her new skills in the local skate park.

“Skateboarding as an exercise, meditation, sport, and art form has given me so much,” shared Hatfield. “All of the members of Girl’s Skate hope to share our stoke for skateboarding with younger girls so that they can have the same opportunity to access such an amazing hobby.”

Interested in getting involved? Girls Skate Club meets up every Tuesday evening to skate and give skateboard lessons twice a block on Wednesdays or Thursdays from 4-6.

Written by Susie Dummit