Voices of Action

Telling Our Stories

Voices of Action celebrates the diversity of students, staff, and faculty at Bard College and across Bard's international partnerships and the greater Open Society University Network. We hope this community-centered project sparks conversation and highlights how we are connected by common interests, especially around civic and community engagement. Voices of Action showcases two platforms: Being(s) at Bard on Instagram (@beingsatbard) and the What Is Your Why? podcast series.

We would love to hear your story!

To be interviewed or to nominate a friend for either Being(s) at Bard or What Is Your Why?, please reach out to [email protected].

The Beings@Bard team, pictured left to right: Javy Polanco, Ariha Shahed, and Sameem Sarabi.

Meet the Team: Being(s) at Bard

Ariha Shahed (she/her), from Dhaka, Bangladesh, is a sophomore majoring in Economics & Politics. She joined the CCE office as an intern at the start of her freshman year and has been a part of Beings@Bard since Spring 2023. Ariha saw Beings@Bard as an opportunity to appreciate both the richness and mundanity of human experiences through photography and storytelling at Bard.

Sameem Sarabi (he/him) is a junior from Kabul, Afghanistan, majoring in Filmmaking. He has been an intern at the CCE office since his sophomore year and joined Beings@Bard last spring. Sameem enjoys visual storytelling and sharing interesting stories of people that he meets everyday.

Being(s) at Bard

Follow us on Instagram!

Sharing the stories, opinions, and interests of Bard Community members in collaboration with the Bard Center for Civic Engagement and the Open Society University Network’s Civic Engagement Initiative. Complete the Google form to suggest a profile.

Being(s) at Bard uses visual storytelling to share personal experiences around culture, history, values, interests, and civic/community engagement of campus community members. These interviews aim to give readers an opportunity to learn from others while also shaping, strengthening, and challenging their own opinions and values. Each post contains a narrative and two accompanying photographs; a portrait of the subject and an image of their living space. To create authentic content, the interviews are conversation based rather than a firm question and answer session.

What Is Your Why?

Why do civic engagement leaders get involved in the work they do? What keeps them going in the face of challenges? In this series, What Is Your Why?, the Bard College Center for Civic Engagement highlights campus and local changemakers.

McKenna Reeves ’26 on Bridging the Gap for Low-Income & First-Gen Students

McKenna Reeves ’26 discusses Bard's SCALE project, a student-run campus program that supports first-generation, low-income students so they can succeed. SCALE makes college more accessible by listening to student needs and implementing aid programs.
Svitlana Kukharuk ’25 on Balancing Human Rights Work

Svitlana Kukharuk is a senior studying Human Rights at Bard College and the founder of the Ukrainian Solidarity Club. She has interned at Freedom House in Washington, DC and at PEN America in New York. Shaped by her experience of living in Ukraine during the war, she promotes democratic values and civic engagement on campus.
Thanasis Kostikas ’26 on "Building Bridges" with TEDx Bard College

Thanasis Kostikas ’26 is a third-year international student from Greece at Bard College who is studying Mathematics and Physics. He is a founding member of the TEDx Bard College team, a student-run organization that holds a thought-provoking conference on campus every year. He is also passionate about tennis and civic engagement.
TEDx Bard College Site
Ariha Shahed ’26 Talks about her Project for Peace in Bangladesh

Ariha Shahed is a second-year student majoring in Economics and Finance. She is Vice President of the International Student Organization, CDO-Chair of the Economics Club, and works on CCE's Beings@Bard initiative. She secured a $10,000 grant from Davis Projects for Peace to implement an initiative providing social protections to populations living in urban railways in Bangladesh.
Serra Sonmez ’25 and Grace Molinaro ’24 on Fundraising for Turkey, Syria, and Afghanistan

Serra Sonmez ’25 studies biology and computer science and is a programming fellow for the Office of the Dean of Inclusive Excellence. Grace Molinaro ’24 is enrolled in the Bard Conservatory dual-degree program (Cello) and Bard's Middle Eastern Studies program. She helped benefit concerts for working women and children in Afghanistan and earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria.
Rob Todd on Understanding Science and its Impact on Student Lives

Rob Todd, Assistant Director of Citizen Science, is a microbiologist, avid proponent of science outreach, and a visiting Assistant Professor of Biology at Bard College. He talks with Vice President of Civic Engagement Erin Cannan about the importance of sharing with young people how understanding science can really impact their lives.
Tyler Figueroa ’26 Talks about His Desire to Connect with People

Tyler Figueroa ’26 is a prospective literature and written arts major. Originally from the Poughkeepsie area, Tyler is an alum of the Hudson Valley Bard High School Early College program. He currently serves as a STEM Outreach Fellow with the Center for Civic Engagement, working with the Tivoli Free Library. In his free time, Tyler is a member of the Bard Warriors and plays club volleyball.
Emily Joachim ’24 on Trying to Make the World a Better Place

Emily Joachim ’24 is a human rights and anthropology major. Originally from New York City, Emily currently serves as the Lead Programming Intern with the Office of Equity and Inclusion and the Club Co-head of the Scale Project (a student-led organization that focuses on bridging the opportunity gap for lower income and first gen students). In her free time, Emily likes to paint, dance, and write.
Shadin Nassar Talks about Civic Engagement at Al-Quds Bard

Shadin Nassar is civic engagement coordinator at Al-Quds Bard College and an alumna of the Global Engagement Fellows Program. She started Upraised Voices, a creative writing initiative to help Palestinians tell their own stories. She helps students find opportunities they are passionate about and which create positive change.
Anna Likhanova ’25 on Her Sense of Justice and How to Give Back

Anna Likhanova ’25 talks with Vice President of Civic Engagement Erin Cannan about her role as head of Bard’s Amnesty International Club, organizing events like panel discussions with guest speakers from the UN on immigration, letter writing campaigns to advocate on behalf of people who have been jailed unjustly, and banned books trivia night.
Sydney Oshuna-Williams ’24 Talks about Showing Up for Others—and For Yourself

Sydney Oshuna-Williams ’24 talks with Vice President of Civic Engagement Erin Cannan about her civic engagement at Bard, facilitating spaces for people to share their experiences, creating her own foundation, and how she has to show up for herself in order to show up for others.
Laurie Husted Talks about Sustainability Work on Campus and Off

In this episode, Chief Sustainability Officer Laurie Husted talks with VP of Civic Engagement Erin Cannan about her roles at Bard and in the Town of Red Hook. Learn more about the Bard Office of Sustainability and how you can get involved by visiting bos.bard.edu.