Joseph McKeen
Center for the Common Good

Jess Caron
Class of 2013

Posted April 01, 2013

Jess Caron '13 (English/Teaching) joined the Bowdoin Volunteer Corps group Bears and Cubs during her first year at Bowdoin.  Bears and Cubs works through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bath/Brunswick and Jess mentored a middle school girl for two years until her mentee moved to away. She also participated in Common Good Day and the on campus Special Olympic swimming and track events.

With an interest in education Jess began volunteering at REAL School in Falmouth, ME. The REAL School is an "Adventure Based, Alternative and Special Education School serving students with and without disabilities, whose needs have not been met in traditional school programs and whose strengths have not yet been reflected in their school performance." Learning to work with students who constantly pushed her outside of her comfort zone was a tremendous experience. One that she carries with her now in her student teaching at Brunswick High School.

As a sophomore Jess went on an Alternative Spring Break trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. As a result of that powerful experience, she decided to combine my passion for education and her desire to open others minds and applied to lead an ASB trip. Just last month Jess and Emma James '13 led a trip to Harlem Children'z Zone and PS 152 Evergreen in Harlem, NY.

For the 2012 summer Jess received a Preston Public Interest Career Fund grant through the Career Planning Center to work in a school called Future Leaders in Ghana. The founder of the school has asked her to be the American Coordinator. In this role, she will visit different universities throughout the US to present her experiences and to recruit volunteers for the organization.

Jess has been regularly involved with the Outing Club throughout her Bowdoin career and has combined her passion for mentoring with her love for nature and serves this year as the Community Service Coordinator, focused primarily on creating a lasting mentoring program between Bowdoin and Brunswick High School's Outing Clubs.  As a junior Jess led a Weekend Service Trip to the Carpenter's Boat Shop in Pemaquid, Maine. This trip was one of her most powerful experiences at Bowdoin and that experience inspired her to take a more logistical role in her senior year.  This year Jess is the McKeen Fellow overseeing the planning and execution of Weekend Service Trips.  

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