EPS Vision In Action

By Paul Hagen, Dean of Students

On April 12, our 8th graders didn’t go to class. Instead they, along with their advisors, left campus and served the underserved community in greater Seattle. The focus of the day was to learn about poverty, hunger, and homelessness in our community, and then to go out and do something about it. Our students packed care bags full of essentials for the Elizabeth Gregory Home for women, did a workshop at Hunger Intervention, and sorted supplies at the Pike Place Food Bank. It’s not uncommon for schools to promote service—many schools even require service hours as a condition of graduation—so the service itself was not unique. What is unique, and what I love most about working with our students, is the enthusiasm with which they engaged in their service projects. Our students demonstrated genuine interest in the people they were serving. They asked thoughtful questions, they showed sincere care and compassion, and they embraced the work. It has always been our vision to Inspire Students to Create a Better World, and this week we had the great privilege of seeing that vision in action.