E R I C K A. R. L E N Z '99

The following feature story appeared in the campus publication MOSAIC in October, 1998.

STUDYING AND SERVING HUMANITY ON CAMPUS AND BEYOND

Ericka R. Lenz '99 has combined a passion for learning with a passion for people, and she has excelled not only in her academics but also in a leadership role in the Trinity community and beyond. Every semester Lenz has been at Trinity, the anthropology major has earned faculty honors. And whether working as a sexual assault counselor on campus or with the mentally retarded in Hartford, or helping to construct houses through Habitat for Humanity in Florida, her passion for people is clearly evident.

    Shortly after enrolling at Trinity and immersing herself in her classes, the Orange, CT native discovered that "anthropology combines a variety of disciplines. It requires that you have an understanding of people from many different perspectives," Lenz asserts. Understanding people intrigues her and is central not only to her studies but also to her commitment in serving others. Lenz has found that her minor in women's studies has enhanced her understanding of the people she serves. She credits Associate Professor of Anthropology Jane H. Nadel-Klein's course "Anthropological Perspectives on Women and Gender" and Professor of History and Director of Women's Studies Joan D. Hedrick's "Feminist Theory" course as major contributors to shaping her course of study. Says Professor Nadel-Klein of her student, "Ericka is someone who really uses her anthropology to effect changes as a leader in community service."

Lenz's service-oriented activities at the College are diverse. A member of the Trinity's Community Outreach Steering Board, Lenz heads several projects throughout the year and helps to organize campus-wide events such as Halloween on Vernon Street for neighborhood children. In 1997, she represented Trinity's steering board at a national conference of the Campus Outreach Opportunities League in Cleveland, OH, where she learned new approaches to improving community service efforts at the college level. Lenz also serves as a Sexual Assault Counselor with the Sexual Assault Task Force, answering calls to the Sexual Assault hotline and speaking with students who who request assistance or information. In her sophomore year she served as a Resident Assistant in North Campus and has also worked in Trinity's Community Child Care Center.

Compassion and dedication

Lenz's efforts, however, go far beyond the campus community. During spring break of her first year, she traveled to Miami, FL to help build houses for Habitat for Humanity. She has also become actively involved with Best Buddies International, an organization which pairs college students with the mentally retarded to encourage interaction between the two. As a first-year student, Lenz met and became friends with Luz, a 15-year-old mentally retarded Hartford resident. Lenz says that the time she has spent shopping, watching movies, and eating meals with Luz "has really opened my eyes. People too often dismiss the mentally retarded as people who can't do anything. This girl is going to do things. The point is, they're people." Coordinator for Urban Learning Initiatives and Director of Academic Support Services Elinor P. Jacobson says, "Ericka exemplifies the essence of community service. She's very focused, compassionate, and dedicated."

During the spring of 1998, Lenz directed her efforts and the results of her studies at people living outside of the United States. Through Lexia International, a program sponsored by Western Washington University, Lenz spent a semester at the University of Buenos Aires, where she not only studied the history and the language of the people, but also performed field research for a survey on women and crime. Through the project, Lenz compared the relationship between women's fear of offenses such as sexual harassment, domestic violence, and rape and actual crime statistics.

Facilitating community funding

This year, after returning to Hartford and Trinity, Lenz is assisting community organizations in yet another way. Through her job at the Hartford-based Coordinating Council for Foundations, a non-profit organization that represents grant- makers in Connecticut who promote effective philanthropy, she is compiling an updated directory of the 1,800 grant-making agencies in the state. The directory, she says, will be an invaluable tool to social service agencies and others who are in need of funding to support their operations.
    Lenz's efforts in serving society and community, coupled with her studies at home and abroad, have provided her with a strong foundation for her plans after graduation. This dedicated senior plans to attend law school and ultimately handle discrimination cases or negotiate peace treaties. Considering her history of immersion in and involvement with the community, there is little doubt that in her life after Trinity Ericka Lenz will continue to have impact on her world in significant ways.