Community engagement. Reciprocal learning. Service to others through volunteering.
Those were the principles behind the creation of the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service in 1994 under the direction of then-Syracuse University Chancellor Kenneth Shaw and his wife, Mary Ann, who also served as the associate of the Chancellor.
The Shaw Center represented Kenneth and Mary Ann’s promise to the University and Central New York community that student learning would hold the highest priority on campus, promoting volunteer service as a fundamental component of the student experience.
For 30 years, the Shaw Center has proudly served as the University’s hub for academic community engagement. By giving back to nonprofits and organizations around Syracuse through service learning and volunteering, the campus community engages in the high impact practice of experiential learning.
Claire Ceccoli
When senior Claire Ceccoli ’25 learned that there were children who didn’t have a bed to sleep on at night, she chaired the annual bed-building project that benefits the local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Through efforts she spearheaded the last two years, 132 beds have been built and donated to children in need.
“We want to help the community, and we’re also learning from them. It’s a two-way street, doing this work with that reciprocal learning mindset,” says Claire Ceccoli ’25, a Shaw Center leadership intern who is studying public relations in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Derek Wallace
Derek Wallace ’00 was in the first group of Syracuse University Literacy Corps tutors in the Syracuse City School District during the summer before his sophomore year. He eventually took over as Literacy Corps student manager, planting the managerial and entrepreneurial skills that inspired him to become CEO of Golden Fork Media and founder of the children’s book series and brand, “Kalamata’s Kitchen,” a multimedia property that uses the power of food to help children get excited to experience all that their world has to offer them.
“It’s hard to imagine what I would be doing or where I would be if I wasn’t given those opportunities to do well, do good and create change in the community under the mentorship of [Shaw Center Associate Vice President and Director] Pam Heintz,” says Wallace, who earned dual degrees in policy studies from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and public relations from the Newhouse School.
On April 21, the 30th anniversary of the Shaw Center will be celebrated and ahead of the event, Wallace and Ceccoli discuss how their involvement with the Shaw Center transformed them into leaders in their communities.
Check out episode 176 of the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast featuring Ceccoli and Wallace. A transcript [PDF] is also available.
Wallace: I wanted to do impactful things, and the Shaw Center felt like that’s exactly what we were trying to do. There was an innovative vision for how we would leverage the skillset of the students in a way that wasn’t just learning in a classroom. It was applied learning and skills applications outside of the classroom that not only benefited our careers as students but also built bridges to the community.
Ceccoli: What drew me to the Shaw Center was the people. Every intern and staff member is so passionate about the work they’re doing. My whole life, I’ve been interested in mission-driven work and nonprofit work. Having an office at the University that’s committed to these initiatives and getting students into the community, I don’t think I could have found a better or more natural fit.
Claire Ceccoli (second from left) poses with two volunteers who helped build beds for Central New York children in need.
Ceccoli: As president of the Syracuse University Volunteer Organization, we’ve partnered with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, an incredible nonprofit organization, to build beds for children in the community. The Syracuse chapter has delivered 6,000 beds within our area. They always wanted to do a bed build on campus with our students, so I pitched this idea and the staff at the Shaw Center were so supportive. The leader I’ve become today is largely a result of my experiences at the Shaw Center.
Wallace: As a Literacy Corps tutor, I worked in an inclusive kindergarten classroom, reading to children with autism and getting them excited about literacy. I wound up taking over as the student manager, which was one of the best leadership experiences I ever had. Along with my classmate, Chad Duhon, we launched Shooting for A’s, an athletic and academic program that invited fifth and sixth graders to come to campus, meet some of their athlete heroes and learn civics lessons. We also launched a service and experiential learning program, Balancing the Books, in partnership with the Whitman School.
As a Shaw Center volunteer, Derek Wallace (third from left) helped launched Shooting for A’s, an athletic and academic program that taught fifth and sixth graders civics lessons while introducing them to their athlete heroes.
Derek Wallace relies on lessons learned as a Shaw Center volunteer to fuel his career as CEO of Golden Fork Media and founder of the children’s book series and brand, “Kalamata’s Kitchen.”
Wallace: My career started at the Shaw Center in children’s literacy, and now I’m the co-creator of a children’s book series. It’s a full circle moment for me. The passion I have for the work I do, what led me down this path were the values I learned and the lessons taught at the Shaw Center. Chancellor Shaw, Mary Ann Shaw, Pam Heintz and [Maxwell School] Professor Bill Coplin believed in my abilities to make a difference and they provided mentorship that put me on this path and I couldn’t be more grateful.
Ceccoli: I know this is the type of work I want to do for the rest of my life. This passion that I see in these community organizations and the change that is possible when people take their skills and step up for their community is something that I want to model for the rest of my life.
