Sitting in her Education 20 class, Pam Cogut '02 listened as the day's guest speaker, Tucker Foundation Dean Stuart Lord, urged students to involve themselves in community service.
Inspired, Cogut decided to take action.
Soon, she found herself directing a pilot summer program bringing disadvantaged high school students to Dartmouth.
The program, Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth, was the brainchild of Lord and was designed to assemble students of various racial and economic backgrounds in a supportive, structured environment at Dartmouth.
Cogut -- with help from education professors and the Tucker Foundation -- included classes in English, mathematics and computer science, along with recreational trips to outdoor locales such as Moosilauke Ravine Lodge in the two-week program.
And in her work, Cogut explained, she not only found great satisfaction in helping the 29 SEAD participants, but found the experience one of personal growth.
"I am not always the most spontaneous person," she explained. "I try to be organized and forsee what might be thrown at me."
In implementing the inaugural summer of SEAD, however, she found that she learned "how to respond immediately to situations, and how to accept that there will be difficulties that you can't anticipate, but need to surmont," Cogut said.
Lord added that "Pam was always able to come up with a 'plan B' and respond to a crisis in a deliberate, caring and thoughtful way. She didn't accept the problem, but focused on a solution and worked as a team player."
With the inaugural year of SEAD deemed a success, Cogut is now focusing on extending the program for the upcoming summer, inviting back last years' students as well as adding a new group.
"Two weeks is not enough to counteract a year of turbulence in these kids' lives," she explained.
And for Cogut, the past two years have not been enough to fulfill her desire to do service. Upon graduation she plans to work in the non-profit sector before attending law school.
SEAD and the Tucker Foundation have increased her desire to help provide aid and opportunities for those in under-resourced communities.
Smiling as she reflected upon her involvement, Cogut explained, "The work you're passionate about may involve longer hours and harder days, but if you care, that makes all the difference in the world."
According to Lord, Cogut's "involvement will serve as a model for the expectations of newly hired directors" of the SEAD program.
And according to friends, the committed and thoughtful qualities that were evident in both Lord's comments and Cogut's active work with SEAD extend to her relationships and work as well.
"Pam really cares so much about all of her friends, and I can see how that would translate to her caring for others with community service," Lauren Smalkowski '02 said. "From friendships to work, she puts all of herself into the things she cares about."
