Helping a local community

Rockville Centre native Courtney Morin, a senior at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. has been working to foster sustainable enterprises and community-serving businesses in a local neighborhood near the school. The English major’s internship is part of Easton’s Urban Ecology Project.

“With the focus of helping achieve local economic and social-development goals, we have been conducting, and will later analyze the results of a survey [to] evaluate residential needs and opinions," said Morin, a 2006 graduate of South Side High School. "Essentially, I'm finding out from each resident I speak to how they feel about their neighborhood —the ways in which they find it satisfactory as well as suggestions for improvement.”

The goal of the Urban Ecology Project, a five-year initiative, is to forge a more creative, healthful and connected community through programs for affordable housing and counseling, children and families, economic development and transportation and neighborhood building.

Morin’s work also includes regular meetings with workers at Lafayette’s Landis Community Outreach Center and other interns. “We have daily reflection meetings where we discuss things such as racial, social and economic issues, the use of power and authority, collaboration and leadership. I've definitely grown from hearing such differing perspectives, backgrounds, and opinions held by my peers,” she added. “Our intelligent and thought-provoking conversations have helped me not only as a student, but as a human being.”

Morin says she plans to attend graduate school after completing her studies at Lafayette. “I know that I want to utilize my writing, reading, and new-found advocacy skills to guide me into the future," she said.

Morin is the daughter of Laura and John Morin of Rockville Centre.

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