McKeen Center’s Seames Discusses “The Gift of Giving” on Public Radio

Among those sharing their thoughts was Sarah Seames, director of Bowdoin's McKeen Center for the Common Good, which promotes public engagement among students.

Seames was a VIP caller on Maine Public's weekday call-in show Maine Calling on election day, November 5.

"I'm really inspired every day by the students that I work with," said Seames. "Just today, I was driving students to the polls here in Brunswick, so I had vanfuls of students who were… actively engaged in democracy."

The McKeen Center helps many students pursue volunteer work in the local community. "We have students who run volunteer groups working with local organizations like the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program and a lot of other partner agencies," she added.

Seames also highlighted the work Bowdoin students are doing to organize Alternative Spring Break trips, visiting locations around the nation and overseas, focused on issues like health care for underserved communities. "Students are using their education to really explore those issues more deeply and think about what they're going to do after they leave Bowdoin," said Seames. Above all, she stressed, the students she works with want to make their educational experience "more than just about themselves."

Read more and listen to the show, which was hosted by Maine Public's Jennifer Rooks and also features panelists Daniel Pink, a New York Times best-selling author, and psychologist Dr. Julie L. Quimby.