SERVICE IN ACTION
F E AT U R E
STU D ENT CO N N ECTS WITH OTH ERS TH ROUG H S E AT T L E U N I V E R S I T Y Y O U T H I N I T I AT I V E
SUYI 5TH ANNIVERSARY
By Annie Beckmann Well before he started thinking about college, sophomore Naod Sebhat knew quite a bit about the Seattle University Youth Initiative, the largest-ever community engagement project in the university’s history, now in its fifth year. His father Asfaha Lemlem, coordinator of the Yesler Terrace Computer Lab and Learning Center, partners with Seattle U and the Youth Initiative to locate any number of resources to assist those he serves. While his father may have given him a nudge toward Seattle U, Sebhat found his own way. It began with JustServe, an organization that connects volunteers with opportunities and a Center for Community Engagement event that brought together students from SU and various Seattle high schools.
“We met at the Seattle U Student Center to discuss social justice issues and the environment. After the meeting, we did a service-related activity. I went to a church in Fremont where a group of us prepared disaster relief kits for the homeless. Then we picked up trash,” Sebhat explains. “It wasn’t a huge impact, but it has a huge impact on you, yourself.” Before his junior year in high school, Sebhat took part in a summer project that developed photography and video pieces related to Yesler Terrace, its rich history and redevelopment. Last year, the Seattle Housing Authority received a three-year grant to support this project and others at Yesler Terrace. Associate Professor Claire Garoutte, who heads SU’s photography program, engages new teens each summer as she oversees the multimedia project.
“I gained a lot of basic skills about photography and video editing and I also learned a lot about community, one where my father spends much of his time,” says Sebhat, an environmental science major. A growing sense of community also convinced Sebhat to join other SU students who work for the Center for Community Engagement and the Youth Initiative at Bailey Gatzert Elementary School 12 hours a week. On Mondays and Wednesdays, he serves as one of several leads in an after-school program. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he provides teacher support in a fourth grade math class, giving attention to students who might appear lost when they’re grappling with concepts like fractions.
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS JOSEPH KALINKO
NAOD SEBHAT