In honor of Founder's Day, undergraduate students are invited to participate in an essay contest. This year, nursing major Brooke Zahine '24 was selected to present her essay during Simmons' annual celebration. Students were asked to discuss an example of inclusive leadership skills they've witnessed during the COVID pandemic. Read her contest-winning essay below!
“Lynn, Lynn, the City of Sin, you never come out the way you went in.” I think I’ve heard that quote every single time I tell someone new where I’m from. Yes, Lynn may not be the nicest and richest city around, but I don’t think “City of Sin” fully fits the name anymore.
In the last few months, Lynn has been one of the most resilient cities in the area. The pandemic hit, and although we had to social distance, it was as if the community got stronger as a whole. We are living in a city that is full of hard workers, and generous people who you would never expect to meet. We are one big melting pot; everyone has their own story as to how they got here.
For people who aren’t from Lynn, if you spent one day greeting those you pass by, it is so eye opening to see the challenges others have faced throughout their lives. This pandemic was hard. There were close to 5,000 cases during the week of the peak, and almost 1500 people have died in the county. But through it all, Lynn has been one tough place, and we got through it. Together.
One of the most inspiring people I have ever met in Lynn is my best friend Carlos Prudencio. He is now a senior at Lynn English High School. Before the pandemic, Carlos organized many community service activities throughout the city. We first grew a bond during the summer of 2019 at a park clean-up he organized. We went to Strawberry park in Lynn and picked up trash to make a safe area for children to play at. He also organized many other services, especially around voting time, where he would volunteer at the polls.
It was no surprise that he volunteered all throughout the pandemic as well. During quarantine, Carlos spent over 400 hours, giving back to our community. He is definitely the most hard-working person I have ever met, and he’s a great example of a leader in our city.
Lynn may seem like a small, “sinful” city, but I can assure you, we are a lot more than that.
On a normal day, pre-COVID, the Salvation Army in downtown Lynn served food to about 60 families per day. But that number changed greatly when the pandemic hit. Everything seemed chaotic for a while; the stores were running out of food, so many people lost their jobs, and parents were struggling with supporting their families. Without the meals our schools provided during the day, parents had to find enough food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Salvation Army immediately became the source for those in need to get food for free, and Carlos had a great impact on their successes.
Carlos joined the food drive when a friend from Youth Without Borders (also known as YWB) reached out for help. YWB is a small community service program at English High, that was originally planning out their own food drive for the city. Due to COVID, they weren’t sure how to do it alone, so they donated their supplies to the Salvation Army and joined them in packaging food boxes. One of the leaders of YWB, Damianny Garrido, knew they needed more help. She reached out to Carlos, and from the start, he was eager to join.
All throughout quarantine, from March to June, Carlos utilized most of his time helping out at the Salvation Army. In my opinion, one of the biggest aspects of what makes someone a great leader is commitment, and ever since quarantine started, I don’t think Carlos has had a day off! He spent between 3-6 hours there every day, 5 days a week, all throughout the pandemic. They packaged thousands of pounds of food to give away to around 500 families a day! Of course, they had to be extremely careful during this time to maintain social distancing and wear a mask, but there was a great socially distanced assembly line and a drive-through area to pick up the food.
No matter what, Carlos was resilient and selfless to make sure people were getting the food they needed for their families. Many asked him, including myself, if he was worried to be working through the peak week and when cases were spiking throughout the city. But to everyone who asked, he simply replied “If I don’t do this, who will?” Carlos was willing to risk his health in order to ensure the health of others in the community and he inspired many to join him along the way.
The Item Live interviewed Carlos to see what really drove him to continue risking his own health for others. He explained how it is important to him to help those who need it. In such a diverse city we live in, it’s impossible to know what people have to go through in their lives every single day.
When a time like this hits such a big melting pot, it’s not much of a surprise that there are amazing people like Carlos who work day in and day out to give back to those who need help. They saw that there were so many mouths to feed and not enough resources for them for supplies. Seeing others struggle empowered Carlos and his team to continue being strong and help get food on everyone’s tables. At the end of June, they packaged over 30,000 boxes and made close to 2 million meals. The Salvation Army could not have done it without the volunteers who were there from the start, including Carlos, and his friends from YWB.
Lynn may seem like a small, “sinful” city, but I can assure you, we are a lot more than that. I am honored to live in this city and be friends with such a hardworking and resilient friend, who has played an important leader in our community.