Volume 14 Edition 1
Levine Connection Spring 2023
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The Newman Civic Fellow Conference by Amogh Bandekar ‘23
“Is that NOLS beanie about the outdoor leadership school in Wyoming?” the passenger on the plane sitting next to me asked, referring to the branded beanie on my head. I was pleasantly surprised, since I assumed few people knew about the National Outdoor Leadership School, and even fewer people would know about it on a flight to Boston. While this individual had not participated in a NOLS program, he had been to the rural town in Wyoming named Lander where every first-year Levine embarks on a backpacking adventure in the summer before starting college. We shared stories, including mine of how a bear entered our camp and we managed to scare it away. I took this conversation as a good omen for the start of my busy weekend. Once I landed in Boston, I had a few hours to get situated and meet the other Newman Civic Fellows prior to the first day of the conference in the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate.
Upon arriving at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate, I was blown away. The venue is a fullscale replica of the United States Senate Chamber in Washington D.C.. While I previously had the privilege of seeing the actual chamber, I had an entirely different experience in Boston. I had more freedom to walk and observe the architecture of the replica building. As a part of the senator-for-a-day experience, each of the Newman Civic Fellows were given a name slab that had their name written with the title of senator followed by their home state below. Following this we were presented with a variety of social issues and tasked to advocate on the behalf of our representative states on bills being presented on the senate floor.
Photo captions - top: Newman Civic Fellows gather to listen to speakers. Bottom: The Great Dome serves as a library and lecture hall at MIT. Bottom right: Alchemist is a sculpture by Spanish sculptor Jaume Piensa.
Being able to attend the Newman Civic Fellows Conference was a transformative experience. I left Boston feeling energized and empowered, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in such a meaningful event as a senior through the Levine Scholars Program.
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