Not everyone gets to enjoy the privilege of being a Marksman. Most students don’t get to enjoy the school’s education, the clubs or the student life. Most students aren’t lucky enough to have the same resources as a Marksman, much less a planetarium. It’s not fair, especially to those who would make the most of it.
That’s why last year, senior Nicholas Dickason, his co-chair senior Arjun Poi and English and History teacher John Perryman decided to create the Civic Responsibility Board—to share the unique opportunities a Marksman has with the surrounding community, and to help students maximize their school experience.
“I’d say (our mission is) to help out the underprivileged community in the area,” Dickason said. “We want to share St. Mark’s resources with other schools that don’t have the same opportunity.”
In their second year of operation, the Civic Responsibility Board is striving to make an impact. Closely working with nonprofit organization Wesley Rankin, the board helps to lead clubs with Lower-School-age students in the Dallas area. Every week, the board hosts a gardening club, and every two weeks a chess club. So far, they have also provided opportunities for Marksman college counselors to give advice at the night program, hosted round tables and volunteered to work lunch at Wesley Rankin.
Yet, while the Civic Responsibility Board has focused on clubs and partnerships like those with Wesley Rankin, its mission extends beyond community service. At school, the board focuses on increasing understanding of the systems and histories that shape our communities. To that end, this year, the board has expanded its efforts with two major initiatives.
The first is the Civic Responsibility Speaker Program, bringing experts like March to the Polls CEO Camila Bourdeau to campus to inspire students and provide insights into public policy, governance, and community challenges. The second is to offer new courses preparing Marksmen for careers in public service, civic leadership and government.
These initiatives, combined with the board’s direct service efforts, demonstrate the impact of their work. Even though the Civic Responsibility Board is just beginning, Dickason knows the difference they’re making. In a heartwarming moment, his students at Wesley Rankin showed how thankful they were.
“They wrote us thank you cards at the end of the semester. That was really fun and touching,” Dickason said. “It’s nice to see that the kids really do want to learn, and that they really do enjoy all the work we put into going down and doing lessons for them.”
