From Awareness to Action: Lawrentians Deepen Their Civic Engagement

From a red-carpet film showcase to a half-day of discussions, workshops, and interactive activities, Lawrentians explored the many forms of civic engagement through this year’s Civic Media Festival and Civic Awareness Day. The event was organized by the Hutchins Center for Civics at Lawrenceville, which “believes that in order to create a more just society, we must strengthen, deepen, and widen our civic capacity," said Executive Director Zaheer Ali. "Our programs are designed to give us opportunities to explore, model, and exercise different ways to do just that.”

An expansion of the student-driven Democracy Day, organized by Kyle Park ’23 in 2022, the events began with a film festival celebrating the work of students who produced non-fiction storytelling projects last summer as part of the Hutchins Civic Media program.

Civic Media grantees receive funding and instructional support to complete media projects over the summer. During their work, students explore and research an issue they care deeply about, learn the fundamentals of multimedia storytelling, and engage directly with experts, advocates, and impacted people. The program is in part an outgrowth of Ali’s experience and interest in oral history, documentary film, and other forms of storytelling for social change.

“Their multimedia projects – this year, films and websites – are testaments of their hard work, talent, and commitment to learning, listening, and reflecting with critical care,” Ali said.

“Through stories, we share information, strengthen connections, sharpen analysis, inspire vision, and motivate action – all of which increase our ability to advance the public good,” Ali added. “Attendees also got a chance to celebrate the work of their peers, whose storytelling projects allowed us to see and hear from people from around the globe facing challenges with dignity.”

Sonia Shum ’27, whose film, "A Second Glance: Stories of Autism, Visual Impairment, and Joy" was screened at the Civic Media Festival Friday, said, “This process showed me how spreading civics awareness is…about connecting with your audience and getting them to feel what you feel about a certain issue.”

“I am very grateful to have received so much positive feedback on my topic and project,” she added. “I even had a student tell me that my film inspired them to open up about their own family members with autism, which made me feel that I had truly made a civic impact.”

The following day featured a morning assembly with remarks by Head of School Steve Murray and a presentation from Hutchins Scholars in Civic Life on the importance of “Building Our Civic Community.” The day also included workshop sessions led by Lawrenceville faculty, staff, and students, as well as a Civic Fair where students practiced their civic engagement through activities like canvassing, letter writing, and voting.

“We hope that participants came away with a greater understanding that each and every one of us are civic actors who can choose from a multitude of ways to advance the public good,” Ali said. “Civic engagement is something we all do, and must do, through acts big and small. It is important for young people to have opportunities to try out different approaches in different spheres so that they can find what works for them.”

Andrew Zweiback ’26 said, “promoting civic awareness and action among my peers is important to me because we are the future generation of voters. I hope Civic Awareness Day taught people different ways they can voice their opinion, as well as the fact that civic issues are wide-ranging in both scope and impact.”

Miranda De Olden ‘26, who led a workshop on ways to address political polarization through empathy and dialogue, said “It was surreal and inspiring to see the entire school come together to explore the power of civic engagement.”

“Civic action isn’t reserved for adults or politicians—it’s something we all have a stake in,” she said. “You don’t have to wait to get involved. You can show up, speak up, and shape your community right now. That’s what Civic Awareness Day showed us: that when we come together with purpose, we can make civics real, relevant, and lasting.”

See more photos from the Civic Media Festival and Civic Awareness Day on Lawrenceville’s Flickr page.

For more information, contact Lisa M. Gillard H'17, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.