Stonehill Service Corps
Stonehill Service Corps offers recent Stonehill graduates an 11-month service experience in India, the Dominican Republic, or Brockton, MA.
Stonehill Service Corps Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary
“One of the most transformative experiences of my life”
Service Corps alumni reflect on their time in the decade-old program.
If you ask Michael Stanton ’13 about the lessons he learned while teaching English and political science to middle and high schoolers in India, he’ll tell you about big risks and dried fish.
“It’s important to take risks: the risk of spending two years doing service work, the risk of trying an innovative approach in the classroom, the risk of saying yes to going to someone’s village to meet their family, the risk of being vulnerable in a community you don’t know,” he explains of his time volunteering with the Stonehill Service Corps (SSC) in Agartala, India. “These risks seem scary, but, in the end, you have an experience you can grow from.”
One small risk that he took in India that didn’t quite pan out: “I gave it a try, and I don’t enjoy the taste of dried fish!”
Food aversions aside, Stanton’s time in Agartala informed his entire career path. After India, he earned a master’s degree in international development studies from George Washington University and now works for the Malala Fund, an international nonprofit founded by Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai. “India was certainly one of the most transformative experiences of my life,” he says.
Stanton is one of more than 95 alumni who have participated in post-graduate, full-time service with the SSC. Now in its tenth year, the SSC has placed alumni in India, Honduras and the Dominican Republic as well as locally, in Brockton, for a one-year commitment, with an option for a second year, to serve in various capacities from teaching to working with developmentally disabled adults to caring for the homeless.
All of the programs require that SSC members commit to the principles of service, simple living, community and spirituality. The program is stipend-based and open to graduating college seniors of all faiths.
Many SSC alumni go on to earn advanced degrees and hold positions in organizations such as The Carnegie Foundation for International Peace, Harvard Kennedy School, Rhode Island Supreme Court and Maryland Food Bank. Many also go on to teach in public or private schools.
Jennifer Sabourin ’19 wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after she graduated last year. But after hearing a presentation by Silva and then talking with her former RA and SSC alum, Chanel Mazzone ’16, she decided to do a year of service with SSC Brockton at the HOPe House, providing direct care for and sharing time with adults with developmental disabilities.
“I have been able to live so much more intentionally than I ever have,” notes Sabourin, who completes her year in June. While she is still contemplating what she’ll do next, she says, “I know that I want to be doing meaningful work and interacting with people—after this experience with SSC and HOPe, there is no way I could do anything else.”
Due to concerns around the COVID-19 crisis, and out of an abundance of caution, the College has suspended the Stonehill Service Corps until further notice.