“When I think about our work and my responsibilities at Need in Deed, I am reminded of Frederick Buechner's definition of 'vocation'—'vocation is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.' We are helping students find that intersection in their lives, just as we, their adult coaches and mentors, are continually redefining our own place in the world.”

“When I think about our young people, I wonder who the leaders will be, what will their priorities be and who will they represent. I feel educators need to be open to teaching and learning strategies like service-learning. That way, schools become places where students acquire knowledge and skills and cultivate their ‘moral compass.’”

“I love looking at the world through an educator’s lens. I think learning to reframe ‘mistakes’ as ‘learning opportunities' helped me develop a more balanced perspective on life.”

“Teachers are under so many pressures, it would be easy for them to give up on service-learning in their classroom. But in the same way that My Voice gives students the chance to contribute to their own learning, I'm proud that we are able to give our teachers the time, space, and resources to develop their skills as service-learning practitioners.”

“Educators have a lofty responsibility. When I reflect on this, Nelson Mandela's words often come to mind: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world," Realizing this, I feel NID can help teachers broaden and sharpen the skills they draw on with students in order to use their time together to make a difference in young peoples' lives and, perhaps, their futures.”

“As I approach the challenge of finding meaningful ways to support our teacher consultants in their ongoing work, I am inspired by the words of Peggy McIntosh and Emily Style of the SEED Project at Wellesley: 'If we aspire to student-centered learning, we need also to be thinking in terms of faculty-centered learning by teachers.' I believe the success of professional learning communities lies in this model.”

“Teachers not only find themselves responsible for academics, but also serving as counselors, mentors and sometimes as friends to their students. I’m delighted to have the chance to work with them and watch through their eyes as their students blossom. As teachers, they enable young people to learn about the world and understand it a little better.”