THE EFFECTS OF GOOD ACTION

A Dive Into Service Learning At Tower Hill

BY KATHERINE NIU ’24

An idea that I wholeheartedly believe in is the power of action, no matter how big or small. This is the notion that drives all of the work I do as the Co-Chair of the Tower Hill Service Board. A single donation for a food drive may not seem world altering, but it still puts food on the table for a family in need. Every single step taken in doing good deeds makes a difference, no matter how seemingly insignificant.

When I arrived at Tower Hill freshman year, I was genuinely inspired by all the incredible leaders that surrounded me. Everyone was either a president of something, some kind of artist or a stellar athlete. It seemed like Tower Hill’s tight-knit community of only 300 Upper Schoolers demonstrated the devotion and passion of a million.

At that time, I did have the inclination to get involved in service, because I wanted to play a role in bettering my community. However, the service opportunities available had dwindled due to the pandemic. But, feeling motivated by my peers, I decided to take the initiative, asking if I could act as the student leader of Hiller Harvest my junior year.

Once I gained approval, I immersed myself in the role—making original presentations, conducting research and creating incentives to maximize the drive’s outcome. I even made a presentation for Lower School assembly with my friends Subhi Yadav ’26 and Aili Inguito ’24 complete with games and prizes (though the prizes caused a bit of a ruckus—I forgot how intense children were around candy).

When I finally saw the 900 collected items on the ground at the drive’s conclusion, I was overjoyed. The Upper School donated half that number in previous years, but the increase in commitment had led to a widespread shift in attitude.

The outcome of Hiller Harvest that year led to a sequence of successful (and semi-successful) new service events, from the MLK Day of Service to a hygiene drive to an attempt at a Ramadan/Food Farmacy drive. Regardless of the results of each event, it became clear to me by the end of junior year that service learning at Tower Hill was back on its feet. Watching the whole school participate in all these activities made me happy. To me, behind each item donated was a caring person who took time out of their own day to make someone else’s better.

When school started again my senior year, it seemed that all the pieces of the puzzle had come fully together. We began meeting almost every week, planning out new, ambitious ideas to improve our impact. We also created a Service Activity Bulletin Board in THE Hub, updating it with opportunities every week. There was even a large number of new freshmen who were interested in joining the board.

But the most important culminating piece of the Service Board’s success was how well we worked as a team. All of the members of the board were essential in planning the Hiller Harvest assembly that influenced a large amount of Upper School donations. Anjalie Chakravertti ’25 and Avery Biery ’25 designed a skit to motivate Lower Schoolers and Tower Tots. Justin Solacoff ’24 reached out to administrators to plan our food/hygiene collection at Homecoming. And in January, Anjalie, Avery and I shot/edited a video to inform the school about the MLK clothing drive.

It feels like service has finally flourished both in and out of our school halls. We help so many people in so many different ways now, not just with our annual Hiller Harvest. We brought hygiene to those who cannot afford it, made use of our unused clothes and gave students opportunities to volunteer themselves by posting on the service bulletin board. And to be honest, the idea that I played any sort of role in bringing all this good about fulfills me in a way that little else can.

Boiling it all down, ALL of the actions taken were crucial for this outcome, whether big or small, indirect or direct. This is what I believe makes the Tower Hill community so magical. From the inspiring leaders that surrounded me freshman year (and still do) to the initiative I took with Hiller Harvest junior year to every donation in a drive to the teamwork of the Service Board, every single one of these things led to the development of service learning, making a difference in the life of someone who needed it. That is why I believe the true key to doing our part in bettering the world is action, as even the simplest deeds have an impact.