Meet Our Alumni

Connor Schoen

Westborough, Class of 2013
Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director, Breaktime

My six-word memoir:

Serve relentlessly. Learn tirelessly. Be kind.

Project 351 is:

Project 351 has been a life-changing source of inspiration, knowledge, experience, and connections. When I joined Project 351 in 2013, I was an eighth grader with endless passion but limited knowledge about how to put my ideas into action. Through my first service campaign, Project 351 empowered me with the courage and the toolkit to effectively mobilize a town-wide clothing drive. This was just the beginning of countless opportunities that Project 351 afforded me.

How has Project 351 inspired your aspirations?

Project 351 taught me at the age of only 14 that you can have a career in public service. When I had “career days” in high school, I dressed as a “public servant” or “nonprofit founder” -- not the most popular choice among most middle schoolers! Project 351 set me on the path I am still on today. In ten years, I see myself continuing to scale Breaktime’s impact and actively advocating for public policy change on the state and federal level to get to the root cause of systemic issues like homelessness, youth unemployment, and hunger.

Who motivates your passion for service?

I am constantly motivated by other young leaders who put their heart, soul, and sweat into their world-changing work, including Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, and Sixto Cancel. Inspired by their work, I aim to create a world where “young adult homelessness” is a thing of the past; a world where our global economy leverages, promotes, and celebrates the unique talents of “Opportunity Youth”, instead of exploiting their labor and degrading their confidence and self-esteem.