HWS News
11 July 2025 • Service The Legacy of Summer of Service
Since 2011, HWS students have contributed more than 30,500 hours to the Finger Lakes Region. This year’s cohort continues that tradition of meaningful community engagement.
Summer of Service at HWS offers students a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the Geneva community by applying their talents and passions through internships with local organizations.
This summer, 15 HWS students are working with the Boys and Girls Club of Geneva, Geneva 2030’s Students Outside All Summer program, and the HWS Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning (CCESL). Since its launch in 2011, the Summer of Service program has supported 118 interns who have contributed more than 30,500 hours to community partnerships across the Finger Lakes.
The program is generously funded by Thomas J. Patchett ’88 and HWS Trustee Dr. Margueritte Murphy and Dr. Brian Cooper. Additional support comes from grant funding secured by the Boys and Girls Club and Geneva 2030, with backing from the The Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation, ESL Charitable Foundation and the Rochester Area Community Foundation.
At the Boys and Girls Club, Nathan Morgan ’27, Spencer Pinque ’26, Grace Romeo ’26, Emma Sherwood ’28, Júlia Teixeira ’26 and Long Tran ’28 support youth programming through mentorship and experiential learning.
Pinque, an English and Education double major, brings prior experience to his role, having served as a HWS Tutor Corps site coordinator at the Club during the academic year. This summer, he continues fostering relationships with students and staff while exploring issues of educational equity and youth development in out-of-school environments.
In Cooper’s Woods, the Students Outside All Summer program — a tech-free, nature-based immersion experience coordinated by Geneva 2030 — includes interns Rebecca Barr ’25, MAT ’26, Asher Landis ’27, Holden May ’26, Kayla Mosqueda ’27, Maya Nichols ’27 and Annabelle Sukhlall ’28. All are supporting youth engagement through outdoor education and community involvement.
Sukhlall, a psychological science major, shares: “This program has allowed me to give back to a community that has given so much to me. It’s also providing valuable experience I can use in my future career in child psychology.”
At CCESL, Jioia D’Andrea-Mucciarelli ’27 and Cassandra Lundgren ’26 are interning alongside Maggie Mahoney ’26, who is based in the Centennial Center for Leadership. Together, they have contributed to strategic planning and integration efforts for both CCESL and CCL.
Lundgren, a Writing and Rhetoric major, also presented at the 2025 Community Development Society Conference, hosted by Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Business Management & Entrepreneurship Craig Talmage, editor of the Community Development Journal. Reflecting on her experience, Lundgren says: “Summer of Service is an exciting opportunity to practice leadership skills for the things you’re passionate about.”
D’Andrea-Mucciarelli, a Business Management & Entrepreneurship major, used her marketing expertise to produce a video spotlighting Geneva 2030’s Mission Summer SMART (Science, Math, Art, Reading and Technology) programming for local youth. She is also designing components for a 2026 Alumni Weekend exhibit that honors HWS alumni who have served in the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps.
That project is led by Julianna Thornburg ’28, who conducted in-depth research and created a survey sent to more than 400 HWS alumni who completed post-graduate national or international service. Thornburg plans to use the responses to showcase alumni experiences and service impact through an exhibit at Houghton House on campus during 2026 Alumni weekend.
“I often hear from students that remaining in Geneva over the summer to research with a faculty member or intern locally is on their ‘bucket lists,’ as the opportunity to become immersed with valuable endeavors, while also enjoying the beauty our region is something that they know is both personally and professionally meaningful,” notes Flowers, Executive Director of the Centers for Community Engagement & Service-Learning and the Centennial Center for Leadership. All interns will present their work and reflections during the Summer of Service Capstone Presentation, held virtually on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. All are welcome to attend email kflowers@hws.edu for registration details.
