The Community Engagement Fellows

Nicole Adler '26

Lead Community Engagement Fellow

This year as a Community Engagement Fellow at Waynflete, I am excited to continue to refine and grow our program. I am also looking forward to getting students excited to engage within our community on campus and beyond! I volunteer at a local daycare in Portland and love it! Going into the classroom has become the highlight of my week! I believe there is a lot of value in students finding opportunities that makes them happy and excited and that are meaningful. As someone who was hesitant to become involved, I want to rewrite that narrative within our community that community engagement is fun, and it is not a scary thing! I can't wait to see how students engage with the program this year!

Paloma Schair-Cardona '28

Community Engagement Fellow

As a Community Engagement Fellow, I want to create awareness at Waynflete about the broader issues in our community. I want students to learn to enjoy giving back both at Waynflete and beyond. Personally, I find it extremely rewarding to help people in need and that are outside our small Waynflete "bubble." As someone who loves to give back, I have been involved in engagement through non-profit organizations such as Maine Needs, Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition (MIRC), and Florence House. These experiences have given me awareness about the needs in our community, the world outside of Waynflete, and how we can engage respectfully and intentionally in helping others. I hope as a Fellow to make the Waynflete Community Engagement Program accessible for all and just as rewarding as it has been for me.

Silas Wellenius '27

Community Engagement Fellow

In my first year as a Community Engagement Fellow, my goal is to work alongside my co-fellows, the student body of Waynflete, our faculty and staff, as well as the broader community of southern Maine. We have much to gain, much to learn, and much to accomplish by working together. Last year, I joined the Can We? Project, which was a fantastic way to engage with the community of Waynflete, Cape Elizabeth, and Maine. In each of the three retreats, I connected with, and made several relevant connections by leaning into the meaning and purpose of Can We? and the Community Engagement Program. This year, as a Fellow, I hope to build on those connections and inspire other students to take time to learn from the lived experiences of others.

Rachel Yordon '28

Community Engagement Fellow

As a Community Engagement Fellow, I want to help students understand that community service is more than a box to check— it's a way to find out what you are passionate about and open your eyes to really see the world around you. Volunteering and community service has shown me that my day-to-day life and someone else’s can be completely different. When you take the time to engage with and help your community, you experience how rewarding it can really be. I hope to help other students find ways to make community engagement meaningful for themselves so it can be something to look forward to and not something that is just a requirement.

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