May 27th: Deborah Silva and Connor Schoen
We have so much love for our Alumni! We are in awe of the places they go, the leaders they become, and the vision of the Beloved Community they pursue.
Tonight, we continue our #351GratitudeMoments in dedication to the big dreamers, innovators, pioneers, and trailblazers who paved the way for the Ambassadors who followed.
With greatest pride and admiration, we dedicate this #351GratitudeMoment to two Alumni leaders of courage, compassion, and conviction -- Connor Schoen and Deborah Silva.
Connor and Deborah, you continue to inspire, teach, and lead us...and we are grateful beyond measure. Today's #351GratitudeMoment is dedicated to you!
DEBORAH SILVA, Brockton
Ambassador Class of 2015, Tufts University '23,
2020 Service Hero; Founding Class of Playbook Trainers; & Diversity Chair, DREAM Executive Board
1. What is your service mission?
I passionately pursue a world defined by service, compassion, and equality. I strive to leave places and people better than I have found them. I'm motivated by the desire to show others the love and care I have been given. Throughout my life, it is the support of others that has allowed me to achieve positive outcomes. In gratitude for the care extended by my community in my family’s time of need, I pay it forward through service.
Last year, I had the opportunity to serve as a Project 351 Playbook Trainer with the Boston Celtics. I partnered with Surya Adeleye (who you met last week during Leadership Lessons!). Through Playbook, I gained skills and knowledge on facilitating conversations about anti-bias, anti-discrimination with middle school students. And, deepened my passion for diversity and inclusion. Now a student at Tufts, I am dedicated to build on my commitment to social justice.
2. How do you continue you service mission at Tufts?
I volunteer for DREAM, a mentoring program in Somerville. Every week, we meet with our mentees to build skills, relationships, and community. Through DREAM, mentees learn how to be leaders, develop awareness and commitment to inclusivity and diversity, and strengthen their social and emotional well-being. This Fall, I will serve as the Diversity Chair on DREAM's executive board! As Chair, I will expand our programming to create equitable and inclusive opportunities for all.
3. How has Project 351 prepared you to be a Leader for Life?
Project 351 awakened in me an insatiable passion to serve with and for others. This drive is my motivating factor for all that I do -- from volunteer projects in college to cheering up a friend in their time of need.
Project 351's speakers, volunteers, and Ambassadors demonstrate the importance of lifting others up and fighting for justice for all. The words and actions I experience with my P351 family fuel my “call-to-action” to serve. Our community gives me the strength to conquer and accomplish feats I did not know were possible. Between leadership lessons, the support and example of my friends, and tangible tools and insights, Project 351 has prepared me to be a groundbreaker.
CONNOR SCHOEN, Westborough
Ambassador Class of 2013, Harvard University '20
Co-Founder, Breaktime
1. What is your service mission? What motivates this mission?
My service mission is to ensure that every young person has the opportunities and support that they need to pursue their dreams. When I was a freshman at Harvard, I was working at the Y2Y Harvard Square Shelter for young adults experiencing homelessness—an initiative I learned about through Project 351. At the same time, I was grappling with confusion about my own identity and navigating my path of coming out as bisexual. While at Y2Y, I learned that 40% of young adults experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQ+, and many of them are homeless -- simply because their families kicked them out because of the way they identified. These peers taught me that no matter what, the most important thing in life is to just be yourself.
Y2Y was the first place I came out, and to this day, I feel immense gratitude to the people there that showed me how important it was to just love myself for who I am. This whole experience inspired me to found Breaktime to elevate young adults, like those at Y2Y, out of homelessness through transitional employment and financial empowerment. For the last two and a half years, I have been tirelessly committed to the mission of breaking the cycle of chronic homelessness. And, to ensuring that every one of my peers has the support they need to realize their full potential and live a stable life. Now that I've graduated Harvard, I'm excited to continue my work on Breaktime full-time. I'll continue to work relentlessly and innovate to solve this issue.
2. How has Project 351 prepared you to be a Leader for Life?
Project 351 was truly a life-changing public service experience for me. For the five years I served as Ambassador and on the ALC, I learned how to plan out projects, organize a team, build partnerships, and mobilize people and resources to accomplish big social change.
Project 351 equipped me with the frameworks I needed to understand project management and movement building, and it empowered me with the confidence I needed in my own leadership capabilities. Through its incredible community and amazing network of inspiring social innovators, Project 351 demonstrated to me -- at an early age -- that a career in public service is not only possible, but an incredibly meaningful way to live your life.
I would not be where I am without Project 351 today as a leader, social innovator, and human being. Project 351 instilled me with the values and inspiration I needed to chart the course I’m on, and every single day I am grateful for that.
Project 351 isn’t just something you do; it becomes part of who you are. Project 351 is definitely part of who I am, and I am constantly guided and inspired by the leadership of all the Ambassadors, Alumni, volunteers, and staff involved. I have so much love for this organization!