See our Child of America 2021 “Celebrating Courage” gala video here on YouTube.
Our gala included José Feliciano receiving his 2021 Child of America award; a message to our kids from Kamilah Forbes, the Executive Producer of the Apollo Theater and our 2020 Child of America honoree; special musical performances by our talented Carver alumni; and much more!
Our Meet the Professionals series puts students in the room with leaders and innovators across varied professions. Our latest Meet the Professionals brought seasoned global communications leader, Doug Michelman, to our Carver students at Norwalk High School.
Doug has more than 20 years of experience leading in-house corporate communications functions at Visa and Pacific Bell and serving in senior roles at a global communications firm. But as he sat down with Carver NHS students, he revealed that he had no idea what he wanted to do at their age. “I didn’t even know what college I wanted to go to. I put the phone down and asked my friends for a vote.” Doug told our kids how he tried things out instead. From volunteering for a political campaign and meeting President Jimmy Carter to experimenting with journalism and newscasting, Doug discovered his primary strength: public relations.
“You all use public relations every day,” he told our students. “Navigating an argument, making a sincere apology, connecting with people… it’s all PR.” A student asked if Doug considered his work to utilize “soft skills.” “Exactly,” he replied, “it all boils down to effective communication.” The same skills that Doug employs to excel in his field were the same that enabled him to get his foot in the door. “When it comes to applying for a job or applying for college, the interviewer knows within the first 5 minutes whether they want to hire you. Your qualifications matter, but how you present yourself, how you smile, how you feel to others matters too.”
Doug finished his presentation by passing the torch—quite literally. Through his work at VISA, Doug attended several Olympics and was one of the torch-runners in 2008. They let him keep the torch he ran with, and with it Doug inspired our kids to become professional communicators themselves. Thank you so much, Doug, for giving your time to our students!
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Doug Michelman is a seasoned global communications leader with more than 20 years of experience leading in-house corporate communications functions at Visa and Pacific Bell and serving in senior roles at a global communications firm. As Chief Communications Officer for Visa, Michelman led the communications strategy for the largest IPO in the U.S, developed the company’s first set of corporate values and business principles and established its global corporate responsibility and philanthropy programs. In addition to leading a team of more than 100 professionals based in more than 15 countries and traveling extensively, he has lived and worked outside the U.S. for more than four years in Hong Kong, China enabling him to develop global perspectives and greater cultural sensitivity. Prior to his work at Visa, Michelman served as Western United States Regional President of Fleishman-Hillard, Vice President for Corporate Communications at AT&T and in several roles at public relations giants Edelman and Burson-Marsteller.
Our Meet the Professionals series puts students in the room with leaders and innovators across varied professions. Our latest Meet the Professionals brought residential designer, Pat Miller, to our Carver students at Brien McMahon High School.
“The most wonderful thing about my business, and something that is not true about other occupations, is that people can touch my work,” Pat said in the BMHS library. “I solve problems. I make people happy.” Pat recounted to our students how she came to architecture and residential design. As the first of her family to attend college, Pat funded her own education at Emerson College where she pursued a major in Drama. This was followed by further academic ventures at Quinnipiac, where Pat studied English. She acknowledged it was an unexpected background for someone in an architectural profession. “I had never thought I was good at math,” Pat remarked, “because I couldn’t ‘see’ algebra or calculus. But I could see geometry. I could see spaces.” When Pat bought 4 acres in Redding, CT, her ability to see spaces ushered in a new ambition: she wanted to build her own house.
To do so, Pat attended Norwalk State Tech’s (now Norwalk Community College) Architectural Engineering program. Shortly after building her own home, she worked in local architecture firms: namely those who were eager to welcome women into the space. “If women were in the field at all,” Pat said, “they were usually interior designers. There just wasn’t encouragement for women in science and math. But women can and should be engineers.” Pat encouraged our students to put themselves out there and chase their passions where they occur. As she flipped through a slideshow of her builds, she made it clear that the only thing inhibiting one’s ability to create is the gumption to try.
Pat set a wonderful example for our students of perseverance, interdisciplinary learning, and the power of belief in oneself. Our students emerged from her Meet the Professionals with confidence and inspiration. Thank you so much for sharing your story with our kids, Pat!
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Pat Miller has created beautiful homes and living spaces in Fairfield County since 1980. Her firm specializes in dealing with local regulatory boards, making presentations before zoning and conservation boards. All projects utilize the services of licensed engineering professionals, established designers and skilled, proven, and reliable local contractors – with all decisions the result of a consensus between the client and designer. Perhaps the greatest sign of her success is the recognition that her clients identify her designs as homes that combine function and design with that elusive quality that is so rare in many of today’s homes – charm. The result: the pleasure of walking into one’s own home and saying, Wow! Learn more at Pat Miller: pat-miller.com
The Carver community thanks Vistage for the company’s recent generous donation.
Vistage is the world's largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize businesses. For nearly 70 years, they have been helping CEOs, business owners and key executives solve their greatest challenges through confidential peer groups and one-to-one executive coaching sessions.
Today, more than 23,000 members in 20 countries rely on Vistage to help make better decisions for their companies, families, and communities.
Jessenia C: Going to St. Peters University was a fun experience for me. I was able to get a look at a school outside of CT. It also took me out of my comfort zone because I did not know much about opportunities or schools outside of UConn or Southern. The school is small but incredibly fun.
Marion Munguia: I enjoyed the school a lot. I liked the student center and the basketball team. Everyone was nice at the school, and the students seemed like all family.
Jayden Diaz: I liked the fact that if you go to the school, the tuition is close to free based on a program that calculates your family's income. This information would be helpful to my family when I want to go to college.
Ti’Asia Ruffin: Seeing the school was helpful. I am a senior and I am looking at schools and what they offer. This school offered a lot from small classroom sizes to D1 athletic programs.
Those are just a few reflections offered by the 32 Carver YDP students from Brien McMahon and Norwalk High Schools who recently toured Saint Peter’s University (SPU).
Upon arrival, SPU ambassadors and staff greeted the students and immediately began immersing them in “SPU pride.” Our students enjoyed a sumptuous dinner and a presentation on the many benefits of a college career at SPU. Our students then went on a campus tour guided by SPU student ambassadors. Our students took in an NCAA Division I basketball game of SPU vs. Rider along the way!
In 2022 Saint Peter's Peacocks men's basketball team gained national recognition, becoming the tenth No. 15 seed in history to upset a No. 2 seed after knocking off the Kentucky Wildcats. Beating Murray State in the next round, they became the third No. 15 seed in tournament history (and the third in the last nine years) to make the Sweet 16. To conclude their historic run, they upset Purdue to become the first No. 15 seed in tournament history to advance to the Elite Eight.
Our students learned about this exciting university with a student body of 3,600 and a 13:1 student-teacher ratio. No SPU student pays full tuition due to scholarships and other generous financial aid supports. The school has a 96% acceptance rate.
We sincerely thank SPU’s Mary Mercado, Taina Cutler, and Carver volunteer and SPU alumnus James Conti for organizing this life-changing experience for our high school students.
Saint Peter's University is a private Jesuit university in Jersey City, New Jersey. Founded as Saint Peter's College in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, the university offers over 60 undergraduate and graduate programs.
Six upcoming online information sessions are hosted by the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) starting March 15!
This series of virtual listening sessions is to inform the development of the 2023- 2028 Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Strategic Plan. As part of a robust public engagement plan, OSTP encourages input from all interested parties, including students, teachers, administrators, parents, researchers, employers, and others, to provide information and perspectives on the challenges faced by – and within – the STEM ecosystem in the United States and solutions that the U.S. Government might implement.
Each listening session will focus on one aspect of the STEM ecosystem. The last session aims to include speakers unable to attend any of the earlier sessions and, as such, will cover each of the five areas covered in the previous sessions. Registration is required to attend sessions. The IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute will facilitate and moderate the meeting on OSTP’s behalf.
Your support makes summer learning and joy possible for more than 1,000 students in 12 Carver summer programs. THANK YOU!
Our collaborative after-school Art Clubs with the Silvermine Art Center have progressed exceptionally well and are as busy as ever. Images below highlight Silvermine’s signature self-portrait and 3D clay exposure projects with our Carver students.
Since 1992, Silvermine Art Partners Programs have provided curriculum-based arts education for Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Stamford public schools. Serving over 1000 urban youth annually, Art Partners help close Connecticut’s educational achievement gap—one of the largest in the nation—by providing access to the arts and unique enrichment programs explicitly designed to target critical student needs.
For Carver kids, Silvermine Art Partners teaches watercolor and tempera painting, mixed media techniques including collage and oil pastel, and clay projects where students are taught to score and build in 3D. Silvermine’s after-school participants eagerly anticipate their arrival, are determined to complete assignments, and look forward to bringing artwork home to share with their families.
By providing access to arts education and enrichment, Silvermine seeks to improve social-emotional learning and visual thinking while developing life skills that are key to success in school and life.
We are deeply grateful to Silvermine for giving the Carver students at Silvermine, Jefferson, Kendall, Wolfpit, and Brookside elementary schools a chance to be exposed to these critical sequential learning projects.
If anyone wants to inquire about the excellent programs offered by Silvermine Art Partners, please get in touch with Missy Savard, Art Partners Outreach Coordinator, Silvermine Arts Center, 1037 Silvermine Road, New Canaan, CT 06840, 203.966.9700 x19, www.silvermineart.org.
By Julia Berg
Delwin, a creative student from the K-2 after-school group at the Carver Community Center, has a few Pokemon cards and wants to design his own to place in a shop.
He creates the Pokemon cards using paper, markers, and scissors. He folds the paper carefully, focusing on how to draw the Poké ball so the middle of it lines up with the crease and the ball's circumference almost touches the edges of the card.
Another student in the group, Eliannah, joins him after she finishes her homework.
They make a shop sign by writing ‘open’ and ‘closed’ on sheets of paper and help each other by correcting any misspelled words. Together they carry their supplies to the gym to continue working on it.
Carver gives these students a good place to complete their homework and dream about and explore future projects.
Volunteer Julia Berg tells us lively stories about our summer and after-school students at the Carver Community Center. See more of her stories here.
Roz McCarthy
NORWALK — Tucked away on Academy St behind a car dealership, The George Washington Carver Community Center is hard to find. The street is bumpy and some neighboring buildings are vacant.
But the Carver, as it has been affectionately known for 85 years and is now officially named, is a powerhouse. The Carver runs more than 50 educational programs in Norwalk: 11 before-and-after-school programs in the elementary schools, summer programs for incoming sixth and ninth graders, middle and high school programs, and internship programs. It provides more than $130,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors.
Novelette Peterkin, chief executive officer, for the past 18 years, has grown the budget of the Carver from $800,000 to more than $9.6 million. The Carver employs 452 employees during the school year and 136 people in the summer.
Peterkin began small, with 50 kids at two middle schools. “I said to the principals I want to design an after-school program for you. I want to hire your teachers and paras and have certified educators design high-quality enrichment programs where children learn by doing.”
On Feb. 23, 45 children in Naramake Elementary School attended the Fifth Grade Scholars program, a free program run by the Carver at nine elementary schools. When school was dismissed, the children played outside, ate a snack, and then got down to work, guided by five certified teachers who work in the school.
Led by fifth grade teacher Alvena Watkins, the kids began rehearsing a skit for the city-wide Black History Day celebration, set to take place the following week.
“3-2-1,” said Watkins with a snap of her fingers. The room quieted instantly. She assigned 16 roles for the skit about the Harlem Renaissance and led the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the opening of their skit. For the next hour, they rehearsed. Watkins directed them to speak louder and with more expression. One boy practically jumped over the table to say his line, “Hold up! Something ain’t right!”
And then it was time to film. Using a hand-held tripod that held an iPhone, light, and microphone, third grade teacher Jonathan Hernandez was the cameraman, Watkins the director, and two teachers led the chorus and moved children around. By 5 pm, the first take was completed, ending with a rousing rendition of a jazz song.
“We try to make it fun and engaging,” said Watkins. “It’s more than just homework time. The academics are focused on social studies and science topics.”
Novelette Peterkin believes that when there is a need in the community, the Carver’s role is to use the resources of the school, the knowledge of the educators, and the funding she is tireless in pursuing to meet that need.
Years ago, she learned that many children could not attend the Carver’s programs because of transportation issues. She approached a donor who said if she raised half, he would give the other half. “Now every program has a bus, and some have two,” she said. Her current budget for transportation is $400,000 per year.
“We want to eliminate all the barriers,” she said. “That’s what we do best. We help the district solve problems, and we work closely with the Norwalk Public Schools.”
When NPS data showed that sixth graders were struggling academically after they entered middle school, the Carver team helped design a program to work with fifth grade teachers. Then they created a five-week summer transition program for kids that was held in their new middle school, taught by middle school teachers.
The program is now in nine elementary schools and all four middle schools.
When data showed that ninth graders had similar academic slippage, a high school program was designed as well. For five weeks, incoming ninth graders in the high schools take academic courses in the morning and spend their afternoons in enrichment activities and on field trips.
“The district sees the value of what we do, and we partner together to go after funding,” she said. The result has been a five-year federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grant.
At the high school level, the Carver Youth Develop Program provides academic support. Running from 2:30-4:30 pm, four days a week, certified teachers help the students with their academic work and enrichment activities.
“Our program is forward-thinking,” said English teacher Sarah Molinelli, lead coordinator of the Brien McMahon High School Youth Development Program, known as YDP. “We want our kids to think about how they are going to reach their goals, so they can be successful for themselves and for the community at large.”
On Feb. 27, Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas spoke to the YDP kids at Brien McMahon as part of the regular Meet the Professionals program that the Carver offers. She spoke of her own struggles to overcome poverty, stuttering and shyness, and she urged them to learn how government can work to improve their lives.
And the Carver offers its famous college tour. For 51 years, the Carver has offered a tour of major colleges and universities including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) during April break. Molinelli said 17 BMHS kids are going this year, and they have raised thousands of dollars through bake sales, pizza sales, and other fundraising activities.
Peterkin thinks big. Fifty programs funded by $9.6 million is only a beginning for her. “We met and exceeded every goal in our 2015 strategic plan,” she said. Now she and her team are implementing the 2020 strategic plan that envisions even more growth with more programs in more schools.
Alvena Watkins works with a group of students in the Carver afternoon school program as they rehearse at Naramake Elementary School, in Norwalk, Conn. Feb. 27, 2023. The students were rehearsing for their part in an upcoming city-wide Black Heritage and History Festival performance.
