Social Responsibility Network Students Explore Community-Based Learning in Baltimore
This September, 14 members of Georgetown’s Social Responsibility Network (SRN) traveled from the Hilltop to Baltimore to engage in community-based learning. Over the course of three days, students were able to learn directly from local leaders — including several Georgetown alumni — about how legal professionals, community organizers and non-profit organizations address issues of social injustice across the city.
Once the MARC Train had arrived at Baltimore Penn Station on Wednesday evening, the cohort set off to have dinner at Red Emma’s, a charming bookstore and event space that employs a worker cooperative model. There, SRN students had the opportunity to chat with Georgetown alumni James Radack (C’89) and Wendy Jeffries (G’06) to learn about their experiences navigating life beyond college and working in the nonprofit sector.
Social Responsibility Network students at Red Emma’s with Georgetown alumni James Radack (C’89), third from left, and Wendy Jeffries (G’06), fourth from left. (Courtesy of Thom Chiarolanzio)
Their conversations — held over a delicious shared meal prepared by Red Emma’s staff — set the tone for the SRN visit, giving students room to reflect on their own future careers while they listened in on the many ways Hoya alumni engage with social justice.
Early Thursday morning, the cohort met with Edie Fortuna, an attorney with the Maryland Public Defenders Office. Fortuna spoke about her work fighting for justice as a public defender, before bringing the group into her work firsthand. SRN students were able to watch the opening arguments of a murder trial and afterward spoke directly with Jodie Hill, a formerly incarcerated man and client of Fortuna’s. Hill, who completed a prison education program and wrote a book while incarcerated, recounted his experience in the criminal justice system and his life since.
SRN students visited the Baltimore Urban Baseball Association (BUBA), a nonprofit dedicated to making baseball and softball accessible to Baltimore youth. (Courtesy of Thom Chiarolanzio)
The morning offered a holistic glimpse into the ways in which housing, education and the law intersect, and how students might see themselves working across these intersections to effect meaningful change.
Next, students spoke with Lisa Davis and Shayla Redfearn of At Jacob’s Well, an organization that provides permanent supportive housing to unhoused individuals. The visit offered a closer look into a small nonprofit with highly localized operations. Beyond their non-profit work, both Davis and Redfearn are faith leaders, highlighting the role that faith may play in motivating justice-oriented work.
The Jesuit value of faith that does justice reemerged during the SRN’s visit with the Esperanza Center, a Catholic Charities program serving Baltimore’s immigrant community. Outreach coordinator Liv Vasquez and program director (and Georgetown alumnus) Manny Hidalgo (C’91) described the center’s work, spotlighting how its medical, legal and educational services support immigrant families across a range of needs. The students concluded their day with a tour at The Walters Art Museum to build community with one another, reflect on the day’s events and unwind.
A group of SRN students sorting gloves at the Baltimore Tool Bank. (Courtesy of Thom Chiarolanzio)
Friday morning, SRN students visited the Baltimore Urban Baseball Association (BUBA), where Adam El Shazli, Andrew Weltlinger and Don Yon walked them through their sports-based approach to youth empowerment in Baltimore. Students also had the opportunity to engage with the program’s baseball equipment, which offered both a fun and hands-on introduction to the organization’s mission.
Before returning to the Hilltop, the cohort visited the Baltimore Community Toolbank, a nonprofit that lends tools to other community organizations. SRN students toured the facility, learned more about how the Toolbank materially supports other service organizations, and participated in a service project led by staff members Rachel Thompson and Elliot Weidow.
The SRN’s time in Baltimore was both informative and reflective. Between site visits and community partner engagements, students built community by playing cards on bus rides through Baltimore or walking along the Inner Harbor and exchanging takeaways on the events of the day.
Alongside the professional connections and mentorship it offers, the SRN provides students with a community of peers committed to social impact across disciplines, majors and interests — a foundation rooted in the belief that the work toward justice, equity and dignity is collective and ongoing. The cohort’s time in Baltimore was just the beginning of a meaningful year of service, community and professional development.