2022 Pay It Forward Challenge

Asaada Craig ’22

As a first-generation college student, Asaada shares, “The opportunity to achieve higher education appeared slim at one point in my life, but my perseverance has always been driven by the thought of my dreams and aspirations becoming a reality. I want to send a message to any younger student that has a world-changing dream wrapped up in their mind, that they can bring all of their brilliant ideas to life no matter how challenging or impossible the road may look. Being a first-generation student means being the one to open the doors for those to come, and I’m proud that such a role is a part of my identity.”

Asaada has served as a lead preceptor for first-year students and a first-generation student advocate at Wheaton. As a sociology and education major, Asaada plans to pursue a career in urban development and non-profit work for underprivileged students. Her experiential learning activities have all been service-learning focused, including a service trip to Puerto Rico with Wheaton’s Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, an Urban Teaching Fellowship at Excel High School in South Boston, and an internship with Hearing Youth Voice, a non-profit dedicated to educational justice issues.

Dalwin Corcino ’23

As the recipient of the Equity and Inclusion Grant, Dalwin shares, “Innovation, at its core, is about making things better for everyone, and that is something I strongly believe and will continue to promote.” With this as a guiding principle, Dalwin has embarked on a project to establish a Language Access Program (LAP). LAP will serve as an additional resource for current & prospective students and families to access the information Wheaton shares with the community in other languages, such as Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin, and Portuguese, four of the most common languages spoken within the Wheaton community. The LAP will provide prospective students access to Wheaton’s campus tours in their respective languages and provide students with resources to help them transition to Wheaton from high school. Dalwin’s vision for LAP stemmed from making Wheaton more inclusive and accessible to those who may not be fluent in English. He is continuously working hard to make this program available to the community for Fall 2022.

Jessica Edelson ’22

Every year, Wheaton students like Jessica explore their interests, develop professional skills, grow their networks, and supplement their education through work and research-based internships. Despite the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Jessica secured an experiential learning opportunity with Hands on Hartford. This social service non-profit organization serves Hartford’s most economically challenged residents in the areas of food, housing, and health. Jessica shared, “As someone double majoring in psychology and public health, I am extremely interested in learning the ways that they interact in a workplace setting. I accomplished this by researching, conducting surveys with residents, running a food pantry, and making meals for homeless people. This internship solidified my love for public health because it showed me firsthand that this discipline is for people struggling, and it’s completely selfless. I now know I want to pursue a master’s in public health and social work.” As a dual major, this experience enhanced her academic pursuits and built the foundation for her future career goals.