Rian Immigrant Center Partners with Enroot To Support Local Immigrant Youth

Contact: Leah Weigel, Communications Manager, Rian Immigrant Center 

                              Phone: 617-542-7654 x30 

                    Email: lweigel@riancenter.org

RIAN IMMIGRANT CENTER PARTNERS WITH ENROOT 

TO SUPPORT LOCAL IMMIGRANT YOUTH

BOSTON, MA (09/08/21) With funding from the Cabot Family Charitable Trust, The Rian Immigrant Center (formerly the Irish International Immigrant Center), is launching a partnership with Enroot, a non-profit organization that empowers immigrant students to achieve academic, career and personal success through inspiring out of school experiences. Enroot’s 4 - 7 year wraparound program model includes 1:1 mentoring, tutoring, leadership and workforce development supporting high school and college students as they move towards a successful future. 

Enroot will identify students in need of Rian’s services and liaise with attorneys to coordinate workshops. Rian attorneys will provide immigration legal services to Enroot students in Somerville and Cambridge, and equip them with knowledge regarding the immigration policies that affect their lives through consultations, legal representation and a series of immigration workshops.  The workshops hosted by Rian will provide students with an understanding of the basic principles of U.S. immigration law and their rights when interacting with law enforcement or immigration officials. 

Rian will also provide Enroot staff and volunteers with professional development to equip them with information regarding the U.S. immigration system, and possible options available to immigrant students in order to best support them. This partnership will expand Rian’s immigrant youth services and will assist more than 80 students in the next school year. 

Ben Clark, Executive Director of Enroot commented,  “Enroot is thrilled about our partnership with the Rian Immigrant Center and about the crucial support we will be better able to provide together for immigrant students in Somerville and Cambridge.”   Somerville Public Schools’ Superintendent, Mary Skipper, added "We are thrilled about Enroot's partnership with Rian, and the impact that this project can have on immigrant youth so they can have a way to become contributing members of their chosen communities. Enroot has been an exceptional partner in our district. Their partnership with Rian demonstrates the deep commitment that Enroot has to providing immigrant youth with the support and access to legal resources they need to make the positive impact in the world that they are looking to make." 

Rian’s Executive Director, Ronnie Millar said, “We are very excited to be expanding our work with immigrant youth in Somerville and Cambridge by partnering with such a wonderful organization as Enroot. Receiving immigration legal assistance empowers immigrant youth and their families to new pathways to stability and success. We are very grateful to the Cabot Family Charitable Foundation for their support.” 

Elizabeth Lynch, Executive Director of the Cabot Family Charitable Trust said, “We are proud to support this innovative partnership that will create a pathway for immigrant students to secure the immigration legal help they need to achieve their full potential.” The program launches this incoming school year.

For more information on this new program, please contact: 

Lima James

ljames@enrootededucation.org

(617) 876-5214 ext. 1

or 

Leah Weigel 

lweigel@riancenter.org 

617-542-7654

Summer 2021 Newsletter

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Dear Enroot Family, As many of you know, in the coming months I will be transitioning out of my role and Enroot will welcome a fantastic new leader. Periods of transition are challenging but bring the promise of fresh perspectives, new opportunities, and growth. Enroot’s transition also provides an exciting opportunity for the organization to be led by a person who shares lived experiences and core aspects of their identity with our students. During my time at Enroot, I have had the privilege of witnessing incredible growth take place in the lives of our students. I have watched individuals I met as teenagers move on from high school to college, from college to careers, from adolescence to adulthood. Each of them have persevered through countless roadblocks and found a way to make important contributions to their community. These victories are 100% their own. And yet they often humbly reflect on the important role that their Enroot family played in positioning them for success. They reference their mentors, their tutors, their internship hosts, their fellow Enroot students and alumni, Enroot staff, their teachers, and guidance counselors. This is the power of Enroot. This is the power of a collective commitment to equity for immigrant students and of a shared journey. I am incredibly proud of all that our Enroot community of students, staff, Board members, volunteers, partners, and funders have accomplished together in recent years and of the strong foundation we have built for future success.  Thank you for being a part of our family and of the shared success we celebrate together. With deep gratitude,   Ben Clark Executive Director End of Year Celebrations This summer marked our second Virtual End of the Year Celebration for students! Our Leadership and Emerge Cohorts came together to celebrate all that they have accomplished over the past academic year. Mentors shared all the reasons why they were proud of their students while students took the opportunity to reflect on all the strength they exhibited over this difficult year. It’s moments like these where Enroot is so thankful for the close community we’ve fostered.   We also use this time of year to gather student and mentor feedback on our program. The following are some quotes students and mentors anonymously shared with each other: “I didn’t know there was a program that was dedicated for immigrant students and for their growth. I remember my friend talking to me about this program and it sounded really cool to be part of it and try it out. At that time I didn’t have the knowledge I knew and didn’t know the language that well, so it helped me a lot for my personal growth.”  “Enroot has supported mostly for learning new skills, opening my mind a little more and gaining more knowledge. It has helped me get me volunteer opportunities for my professional growth and give a lot of resources to my future education.” “It’s a really good program and I feel it has helped me a lot to socialize with other students that share something in common.” Celebrating Our Graduates! Enroot is thrilled that several students who joined our College Success program as college sophomores during its pilot year in 2018 have recently graduated from college! A HUGE congratulations to Alessandra, Asif, Emma, and Giovanna on graduating this Spring in 2021! We can’t wait to see all that you go on to accomplish and cannot be more sure of all the amazing work you will do.  Asif, who graduated from Boston University and is now going on to work at Constant Contact, wrote to us: “I would also like to thank the rest of the Enroot staff who are continuously working hard to help the immigrant students who are new to this country. I will forever be grateful to Enroot and the way in which Enroot was a strong pillar of support for me during my most difficult time in high school. Without a doubt I can say the resources and mentors I got helped me to get where I am today. And, yes I will definitely reach out if I need help with something.”  - Asif Enroot is Hiring! Enroot is expanding our small but mighty team with passionate individuals devoted to helping immigrant students realize their full potential.  We are looking for a Development Manager – a motivated fundraising professional to join a team that’s passionate about helping immigrant students realize their full potential. Reporting to the Senior Director of Development, the Development Manager is a full-time position that will execute all grant activities required to secure and steward institutional funders, manage Enroot’s fundraising database, manage donor communications, and provide additional support in development operations. Check out the job description here. Featuring Our Remnant Brewery Event Last month Enroot collaborated with Remnant Brewery to host a recruitment information event for community members who may be interested in volunteering as mentors and tutors. During the event, folx had the opportunity to learn more about what being a volunteer entails, discuss Enroot’s programming structure, learn how to get involved in supporting and empowering local immigrant youth, and get a chance to meet Enroot staff and current volunteers - all while enjoying delicious food and drink provided by Remnant! Big thank you to Remnant for helping us put on this event. Passionate community members like you make it possible for Enroot to keep expanding our volunteer base.  Volunteer Recruitment - Spread the Word! Our two amazing summer interns, Sophia and Johnny, worked hard on volunteer recruitment all summer. Here they are at the Medford Farmers Market spreading the word! Enroot is still recruiting volunteers for the fall! We are looking for people in the community who are invested in empowering immigrant youth to reach their full potential. Read more about what it is like to be a mentor here. Our volunteers commit to 1.5 hrs of meeting time with their students weekly, create a safe and trusting environment, and provide guidance as students pursue their goals. Apply now!  Join Our Volunteer Committee! We're so excited to welcome all Enroot volunteers, returning and new, for another academic year, and we 're thrilled to announce that Enroot's Volunteer Committee is currently looking for new members. The Volunteer Committee is a group of active Enroot volunteers working together to create a stronger, more engaged and connected volunteer community. From fostering wellness through events like volunteer yoga with the amazing organization You Good Sis, to showcasing the impressive talents of our fellow volunteers in the "Enroot's Got Talent" contest, the Committee is dedicated to improving the volunteer experience at Enroot.  If you are interested in joining the Volunteer Committee, please apply here. We have 6 spots available, and we will welcome new members on a rolling basis.  Thank You to Our Students! As we approach the new school year and all the potential it brings with returning to hybrid mentoring, we want to thank our students again for being so considerate, patient, and empathetic this past year. Amid the many changes that COVID-19 has brought, we are also saying goodbye to some members of our incredible team and welcoming brand new members to our Enroot family. While transitions can be difficult, we want to reiterate that the Enroot family is forever. The relationships we have fostered are real, and the connections we’ve made are permanent. We are always here to support you, now just a Zoom call away. Mahlet Aklu August 4, 2021 Letters To Our Community Enroot’s Transition to a New Executive Director Mahlet Aklu August 4, 2021 Letters To Our Community *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* DONATE TODAY! Dear Enroot Family, After almost 8 years as Executive Director and deep reflection about where Enroot is in its evolution, I have determined this is the ideal time for me to transition out of my role. I am thrilled  for Enroot to welcome a fantastic new leader, especially someone who shares lived experiences and core aspects of their identity with our students. Enroot’s Board of Directors has established a goal of welcoming our new Executive Director in January, 2022. I will be working closely with the Board, staff, students, and our larger community to ensure a smooth transition. It has been a profound honor to be a part of a mission as important as Enroot’s, and to work shoulder to shoulder with such an incredible community of students, staff, Board, volunteers, funders and community partners since 2013. I’m proud of how far we’ve come together and of the strong foundation we’ve laid for Enroot’s best chapter ever, which is coming up next. More than anything, I’m grateful that the hard work we all invested together meant that so many more immigrant students had the opportunity to develop an unshakable sense of belonging, an exciting vision for their future, and many of the skills they will need to pursue it. Thank you to each and every one of you, for making this possible for each and every one of them. With great appreciation, love and excitement for Enroot’s future, Ben Clark Executive Director Dear Enroot Community, We would like to thank Ben for his many years of service to Enroot, not only as Executive Director but also as a Board member and volunteer mentor. His leadership of the Enroot team and the relationships he has cultivated with students and their families, partner organizations, funders, and city government in the communities we serve has greatly strengthened our organization and has positioned Enroot for continued success. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.  Allyson Allen and Tri Ho Co-Chairs of Enroot's Board of Directors   Mahlet Aklu June 2, 2021 Newsletters Spring 2021 Newsletter Mahlet Aklu June 2, 2021 Newsletters *|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|* Dear Enroot Family, I hope this letter finds you healthy and feeling a renewed sense of optimism about the future. Although the ongoing pandemic and near-constant racialized violence continue to make this a uniquely challenging time, the last few months have also brought countless opportunities for learning, growth and fresh hope to our community. As you’ll see below, Enroot students contributed to public discourse on equity in STEM, explored careers across all sectors alongside several dozen professionals in our Virtual Career Fair, and shared their visions of success in a must-watch ‘What Does Success Mean to You’ video project. Our Alumni gathered for a heartwarming mini-reunion, filled with equal parts laughter and tears. Our Volunteers leaned into challenging conversations during Parts 3 and 4 of our year-long Unconscious Bias trainings, and shared their hidden talents in the first ever “Enroot’s Got Talent” talent show. Enroot’s staff and Board continue to push their own boundaries as antiracist leaders through trainings, action-oriented conversations, and the creation of our Strategic Plan for advancing equity at Enroot. As our high school seniors continue to get good news from colleges and other post-high school opportunities, we focus on our shared future, which is brighter than ever before.  Thank you for continuing to be a part of the Enroot family, and of the movement to advance educational equity for immigrant students! Ben Clark Executive Director Ben Clark Executive Director Honoring Women’s History Beyond March As we celebrated the beginning of spring in March, we also had the space and time to reflect on the importance of women in not only our culture and society, but also in breaking down boundaries and constraints that have been unjustly projected onto women. As an organization dedicated to equity, we believe it is important to recognize the bravery and resiliency of women not only during Women’s History Month, but throughout our lives, and remain committed to fighting for women’s empowerment by addressing the wage gap and underrepresentation in so many areas. The Enroot team honored Women’s History Month by using our time together as a team to watch videos and have discussions on women voices and empowerment. We explored the United Nations’ video highlighting International Women's Day, which discusses the history of women’s rights and march for a more equal future. We also spent time exploring Oprah Magazine US's video that focuses on uplifting the voices and perspectives of women of color. Last but not least, we celebrated the important accomplishments and values of the incredible women on our Enroot team. We deeply value Enroot's mostly female-led staff and their work advancing our organization's important mission. STEM Partnerships A Virtual STEM Panel with Broad Institute This spring, we partnered with Broad Institute to host an informative virtual STEM panel for our students. The Broad Institute panelists talked to our students about crafting a path in the STEM field. It was amazing to listen to a group of professionals that represented our students’ backgrounds, languages and ethnicities share their experiences in the STEM field with our students! Our students were thoroughly engaged throughout and after the panel. We are so grateful for our partnership and time with Broad Institute and we believe we have some future scientists in our group after this thoughtful panel.  Boston Globe Panel Discussion with Biogen Our amazing Enroot Somerville High School student Emily, and Executive Director Ben Clark, participated in a panel hosted by The Boston Globe and Biogen that addressed racial inequality in STEM education. In an era where STEM education and opportunities aren’t accessible for so many individuals of marginalized backgrounds, we are thankful that conversations like this one are being held so we can push the envelope to include immigrant student voices in STEM education! We are incredibly proud of Emily for sharing her experiences and being a voice for her peers. We are honored to have partners like Biogen who are committed to advancing racial equity in STEM education. Virtual Career Fair We had the incredible opportunity to host a Virtual Career fair featuring Enroot partners Amgen, Google, First Republic Bank, Bunker Hill Community College, Boys and Girls Club of Boston, Mathematica, City of Somerville Summer Programs, Boston Museum of Science, Cambridge Mayor’s Program, and the Rian Immigrant Center! Our students interacted with a panel of professionals who shared their experiences and advice related to the fields of technology, medicine, financial services, sciences and the nonprofit sector.  A few important quotes from the Career Fair include: “Don’t stop applying to get the position you want! A lot of it is luck and timing. I applied to my position several times before getting the role!” “The policy world needs people with different views. Policies impact people’s lives and there is so much value in bringing your voice and experience into those settings and speaking for people who may not be able to speak on their own behalf.” The Virtual Career Fair was a huge success with very active participation from our students. We hope that some of our students will be able to trace their future career decisions to the exposure that this Virtual Career Fair provided. We LOVE our Alumni!  Moments like THESE remind us why we work so hard and stay committed to the passionate work we do on a daily basis.  We recently hosted an Enroot Alumni happy hour to reconnect, reminisce on past memories, and have some fun together! Let’s just say our alumni did NOT disappoint. We played fun icebreakers, reflected on the importance of Enroot in our lives, and went down memory lane dating all the way back to 1993. We are so grateful for our alumni network and their dedicated passion to remain engaged with Enroot in the capacity that they can. We can’t wait for our next alumni reunion!  What Does Success Mean To You? Our wonderful Tufts University Tisch Scholar, Shariqa Rahman, created a heartwarming video titled “What Does Success Mean To You?” Over the past few months, Shariqa spent time interviewing our students on their own versions of “success”, and our students gave incredibly thoughtful responses that embody their own personal experiences as well as Enroot's mission. Please take a few minutes to check out the video! Enroot’s Got Talent If you read our last newsletter, you probably saw that we were looking forward to an exciting event planned by our Volunteer Committee. Our Volunteer Committee organized an Enroot’s Got Talent event and it was a huge success! In an hour-long spectacular headed by two MCs and a wonderful judge panel, our volunteers showcased their talents ranging from origami to poetry reading to singing and much more! We had a lot of fun and we hope you all stay tuned for our next Enroot’s Got Talent! Unconscious Bias Trainings For our Unconscious Bias Trainings 3 and 4, that happened in March and May, we focused on Trauma Informed care and how Enroot mentors and tutors can best apply trauma informed practices to their student support.. Our volunteers were very engaged and were so brave in absorbing information while self-reflecting and advancing the conversation. In training #4 we utilized Racial Affinity Groups to deepen the conversation and reduce the incidence of harm that can be an unintended by product of this type of learning in a multi-racial setting. Through sharing and hearing our stories, we hope to continue working actively against the implicit, explicit, institutional and internalized racism that affects BIPOC/immigrant communities.  Join Enroot as a Volunteer!  We are currently recruiting mentors and tutors to work with our students inside and outside the classroom for the upcoming academic year! If you are interested in providing academic and leadership support, college preparation support, English practice, and partnering with high school immigrant youth to maximize their potential, please consider applying!  Application can be found here: LINK  For more information, visit our website: HERE  Things To Look Forward To Important DBIE Work! Over the past year, we have focused on expanding and advancing our work in the areas of Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion and Equity across our entire Enroot community. Out of a group of hundreds of applicants, Enroot was selected as one of the three organizations to participate in the “Essential Community Practices for Racial Equity Cohort” which will be led by Trinity Boston Connects over the next 6 months. We are excited for this multi-month learning opportunity and consulting engagement, which will include deep exploration and action planning around Racial Equity, Trauma Inclusion, and Restorative Practices. These sessions are coming at a critical time for Enroot and we are so thankful to be in a position to make this important work a priority. Contribute to our Spring Giving Campaign Advancing educational equity with and for immigrant students is more important than ever before. In an unprecedented year of obstacles and adversity, our students not only persisted but handled this year with incredible grace in a mostly virtual school year. Additionally, we are excited to announce that several of the college sophomores who enrolled in our first College Success Program Cohort in 2018 are graduating right now!  Your generous support is making a difference and we hope you can contribute to the brighter days ahead! We could not have accomplished so much over the past year without generous contributions from individuals like you. We hope you continue to invest in our students’ success by contributing to our Spring Giving Campaign.  DONATE TODAY! Mahlet Aklu April 21, 2021 Enroot in the News Chauvin verdict is one small, but important, step toward accountability Mahlet Aklu April 21, 2021 Enroot in the News Originally authored by Ben Clark, Executive Director of Enroot, and published in the Cambridge Chronicle on January 21, 2021. Like many of you, the Derek Chauvin guilty verdicts brought me some measure of relief, as well as a heavy recognition that it represents just one tiny step in the right direction. Although it was right and important that Derek Chauvin be held accountable for the murder of George Floyd, we cannot and should not confuse the proper administration of justice in this one case with the larger systemic change we so desperately need. These verdicts were an all too rare instance of accountability in the wake of what has for generations been a tragic daily occurrence for many Black and Brown people - suffering humiliation, injury and death at the hands of police sworn to protect them. Until such accountability is the norm, rather than the exception, we must all remain committed to, and fully engaged in, the fight for public safety reform and the dismantling of systemic racism. We must continue to fight for justice for Ma’Khia Bryant, Adam Toledo, Daunte Wright, Breonna Taylor, and the countless other Black and Brown individuals who are harmed or killed by police each day. And even as we do, we must remember that a guilty verdict cannot bring George Floyd back as a daddy to his 7 year old daughter Gianna, as a partner to his girlfriend Courtney, or as a beloved community member to his friends and neighbors. The same is true for Ma’Khaia Bryant’s mother Paola, Adam Toledo’s mother Elizabeth, Daunte Wright’s 1 year old son Daunte Jr., and Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth. The loss for these families is permanent. It cannot be altered by guilty verdicts.  As I struggle to process the killings of Ma’Khia Bryant at age 16, Adam Toledo at age 13, Daunte Wright at age 20, and Breonna Taylor at 26, it sat very heavily with me that this is the very same stage of life of most of the students that my team and I support at Enroot. These young people had their entire lives ahead of them. If they were really lucky, they may have even lived to see the year 2100. Another thing many Enroot students have in common with them is identifying racially as Black, Latino, or both. I reflected back on moments when Enroot students have confided in me and other staff members their feelings of insecurity around police - and how they didn’t feel this way in their home country. The feeling of insecurity and fear that so many people of color experience when they or their loved ones interact with police is also not changed today. It will not change tomorrow. It will not change until our system of public safety has been reimagined and transformed from the ground up, into one capable of ensuring the safety of all residents equally. It will not change until we make a collective commitment to honestly examine how the mindset of white supremacy, that white people are superior and more deserving of safety and liberty, is deeply embedded in our society and has conditioned us to expect a diminished version of justice for people of color. It will not change until we’ve rooted out this way of thinking and being from our institutions, one by one, and worked at an individual level to unlearn all that must be unlearned. Ultimately, I do believe it is important for us to lift up the times when we, collectively, get something right. We must examine what it took to get it right, so that we are more capable of repeating it in the future. I was struck by the way CNN’s Van Jones put it moments after the verdicts were announced, “I think of that young girl that brought out her cell phone, and who stood there in horror, not knowing what to do but just holding that phone steady, she did the right thing. All those community members who came and begged and pleaded and talked, they did the right thing. That EMT person did the right thing. When people called the police on the police they did the right thing. When the police chief fired this man, he did the right thing. People who marched by the millions, they did the right thing. And part of what the message has to be is that we have to get more involved.”  It is important to try to interpret victories like this as evidence that we are capable of becoming a country that truly embodies our ideals. Though we are a long, long way away from achieving this, it is only through faith in this possibility that we find renewed courage to continue fighting. Each of us has countless opportunities, every single day, to reject the status quo and engage in antiracist actions. So the next time you find yourself staring into the face of racism, subtle or overt, join me in asking yourself, “Am I doing the right thing?” Newer Posts Older Posts Back to Top 99 Bishop Allen Drive, Unit 129, Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States6178765214info@enrooteducation.org contact us info@enrooteducation.org (617) 876-5214 99 Bishop Allen Drive, Unit 129 | Cambridge, MA 02139 newsletter © enroot education 2025

Enroot’s Transition to a New Executive Director

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Spring 2021 Newsletter

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Dear Enroot Family, I hope this letter finds you healthy and feeling a renewed sense of optimism about the future. Although the ongoing pandemic and near-constant racialized violence continue to make this a uniquely challenging time, the last few months have also brought countless opportunities for learning, growth and fresh hope to our community. As you’ll see below, Enroot students contributed to public discourse on equity in STEM, explored careers across all sectors alongside several dozen professionals in our Virtual Career Fair, and shared their visions of success in a must-watch ‘What Does Success Mean to You’ video project. Our Alumni gathered for a heartwarming mini-reunion, filled with equal parts laughter and tears. Our Volunteers leaned into challenging conversations during Parts 3 and 4 of our year-long Unconscious Bias trainings, and shared their hidden talents in the first ever “Enroot’s Got Talent” talent show. Enroot’s staff and Board continue to push their own boundaries as antiracist leaders through trainings, action-oriented conversations, and the creation of our Strategic Plan for advancing equity at Enroot. As our high school seniors continue to get good news from colleges and other post-high school opportunities, we focus on our shared future, which is brighter than ever before.  Thank you for continuing to be a part of the Enroot family, and of the movement to advance educational equity for immigrant students! Ben Clark Executive Director Ben Clark Executive Director Honoring Women’s History Beyond March As we celebrated the beginning of spring in March, we also had the space and time to reflect on the importance of women in not only our culture and society, but also in breaking down boundaries and constraints that have been unjustly projected onto women. As an organization dedicated to equity, we believe it is important to recognize the bravery and resiliency of women not only during Women’s History Month, but throughout our lives, and remain committed to fighting for women’s empowerment by addressing the wage gap and underrepresentation in so many areas. The Enroot team honored Women’s History Month by using our time together as a team to watch videos and have discussions on women voices and empowerment. We explored the United Nations’ video highlighting International Women's Day, which discusses the history of women’s rights and march for a more equal future. We also spent time exploring Oprah Magazine US's video that focuses on uplifting the voices and perspectives of women of color. Last but not least, we celebrated the important accomplishments and values of the incredible women on our Enroot team. We deeply value Enroot's mostly female-led staff and their work advancing our organization's important mission. STEM Partnerships A Virtual STEM Panel with Broad Institute This spring, we partnered with Broad Institute to host an informative virtual STEM panel for our students. The Broad Institute panelists talked to our students about crafting a path in the STEM field. It was amazing to listen to a group of professionals that represented our students’ backgrounds, languages and ethnicities share their experiences in the STEM field with our students! Our students were thoroughly engaged throughout and after the panel. We are so grateful for our partnership and time with Broad Institute and we believe we have some future scientists in our group after this thoughtful panel.  Boston Globe Panel Discussion with Biogen Our amazing Enroot Somerville High School student Emily, and Executive Director Ben Clark, participated in a panel hosted by The Boston Globe and Biogen that addressed racial inequality in STEM education. In an era where STEM education and opportunities aren’t accessible for so many individuals of marginalized backgrounds, we are thankful that conversations like this one are being held so we can push the envelope to include immigrant student voices in STEM education! We are incredibly proud of Emily for sharing her experiences and being a voice for her peers. We are honored to have partners like Biogen who are committed to advancing racial equity in STEM education. Virtual Career Fair We had the incredible opportunity to host a Virtual Career fair featuring Enroot partners Amgen, Google, First Republic Bank, Bunker Hill Community College, Boys and Girls Club of Boston, Mathematica, City of Somerville Summer Programs, Boston Museum of Science, Cambridge Mayor’s Program, and the Rian Immigrant Center! Our students interacted with a panel of professionals who shared their experiences and advice related to the fields of technology, medicine, financial services, sciences and the nonprofit sector.  A few important quotes from the Career Fair include: “Don’t stop applying to get the position you want! A lot of it is luck and timing. I applied to my position several times before getting the role!” “The policy world needs people with different views. Policies impact people’s lives and there is so much value in bringing your voice and experience into those settings and speaking for people who may not be able to speak on their own behalf.” The Virtual Career Fair was a huge success with very active participation from our students. We hope that some of our students will be able to trace their future career decisions to the exposure that this Virtual Career Fair provided. We LOVE our Alumni!  Moments like THESE remind us why we work so hard and stay committed to the passionate work we do on a daily basis.  We recently hosted an Enroot Alumni happy hour to reconnect, reminisce on past memories, and have some fun together! Let’s just say our alumni did NOT disappoint. We played fun icebreakers, reflected on the importance of Enroot in our lives, and went down memory lane dating all the way back to 1993. We are so grateful for our alumni network and their dedicated passion to remain engaged with Enroot in the capacity that they can. We can’t wait for our next alumni reunion!  What Does Success Mean To You? Our wonderful Tufts University Tisch Scholar, Shariqa Rahman, created a heartwarming video titled “What Does Success Mean To You?” Over the past few months, Shariqa spent time interviewing our students on their own versions of “success”, and our students gave incredibly thoughtful responses that embody their own personal experiences as well as Enroot's mission. Please take a few minutes to check out the video! Enroot’s Got Talent If you read our last newsletter, you probably saw that we were looking forward to an exciting event planned by our Volunteer Committee. Our Volunteer Committee organized an Enroot’s Got Talent event and it was a huge success! In an hour-long spectacular headed by two MCs and a wonderful judge panel, our volunteers showcased their talents ranging from origami to poetry reading to singing and much more! We had a lot of fun and we hope you all stay tuned for our next Enroot’s Got Talent! Unconscious Bias Trainings For our Unconscious Bias Trainings 3 and 4, that happened in March and May, we focused on Trauma Informed care and how Enroot mentors and tutors can best apply trauma informed practices to their student support.. Our volunteers were very engaged and were so brave in absorbing information while self-reflecting and advancing the conversation. In training #4 we utilized Racial Affinity Groups to deepen the conversation and reduce the incidence of harm that can be an unintended by product of this type of learning in a multi-racial setting. Through sharing and hearing our stories, we hope to continue working actively against the implicit, explicit, institutional and internalized racism that affects BIPOC/immigrant communities.  Join Enroot as a Volunteer!  We are currently recruiting mentors and tutors to work with our students inside and outside the classroom for the upcoming academic year! If you are interested in providing academic and leadership support, college preparation support, English practice, and partnering with high school immigrant youth to maximize their potential, please consider applying!  Application can be found here: LINK  For more information, visit our website: HERE  Things To Look Forward To Important DBIE Work! Over the past year, we have focused on expanding and advancing our work in the areas of Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion and Equity across our entire Enroot community. Out of a group of hundreds of applicants, Enroot was selected as one of the three organizations to participate in the “Essential Community Practices for Racial Equity Cohort” which will be led by Trinity Boston Connects over the next 6 months. We are excited for this multi-month learning opportunity and consulting engagement, which will include deep exploration and action planning around Racial Equity, Trauma Inclusion, and Restorative Practices. These sessions are coming at a critical time for Enroot and we are so thankful to be in a position to make this important work a priority. Contribute to our Spring Giving Campaign Advancing educational equity with and for immigrant students is more important than ever before. In an unprecedented year of obstacles and adversity, our students not only persisted but handled this year with incredible grace in a mostly virtual school year. Additionally, we are excited to announce that several of the college sophomores who enrolled in our first College Success Program Cohort in 2018 are graduating right now!  Your generous support is making a difference and we hope you can contribute to the brighter days ahead! We could not have accomplished so much over the past year without generous contributions from individuals like you. We hope you continue to invest in our students’ success by contributing to our Spring Giving Campaign.  DONATE TODAY! Mahlet Aklu April 21, 2021 Enroot in the News Chauvin verdict is one small, but important, step toward accountability Mahlet Aklu April 21, 2021 Enroot in the News Originally authored by Ben Clark, Executive Director of Enroot, and published in the Cambridge Chronicle on January 21, 2021. Like many of you, the Derek Chauvin guilty verdicts brought me some measure of relief, as well as a heavy recognition that it represents just one tiny step in the right direction. Although it was right and important that Derek Chauvin be held accountable for the murder of George Floyd, we cannot and should not confuse the proper administration of justice in this one case with the larger systemic change we so desperately need. These verdicts were an all too rare instance of accountability in the wake of what has for generations been a tragic daily occurrence for many Black and Brown people - suffering humiliation, injury and death at the hands of police sworn to protect them. Until such accountability is the norm, rather than the exception, we must all remain committed to, and fully engaged in, the fight for public safety reform and the dismantling of systemic racism. We must continue to fight for justice for Ma’Khia Bryant, Adam Toledo, Daunte Wright, Breonna Taylor, and the countless other Black and Brown individuals who are harmed or killed by police each day. And even as we do, we must remember that a guilty verdict cannot bring George Floyd back as a daddy to his 7 year old daughter Gianna, as a partner to his girlfriend Courtney, or as a beloved community member to his friends and neighbors. The same is true for Ma’Khaia Bryant’s mother Paola, Adam Toledo’s mother Elizabeth, Daunte Wright’s 1 year old son Daunte Jr., and Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth. The loss for these families is permanent. It cannot be altered by guilty verdicts.  As I struggle to process the killings of Ma’Khia Bryant at age 16, Adam Toledo at age 13, Daunte Wright at age 20, and Breonna Taylor at 26, it sat very heavily with me that this is the very same stage of life of most of the students that my team and I support at Enroot. These young people had their entire lives ahead of them. If they were really lucky, they may have even lived to see the year 2100. Another thing many Enroot students have in common with them is identifying racially as Black, Latino, or both. I reflected back on moments when Enroot students have confided in me and other staff members their feelings of insecurity around police - and how they didn’t feel this way in their home country. The feeling of insecurity and fear that so many people of color experience when they or their loved ones interact with police is also not changed today. It will not change tomorrow. It will not change until our system of public safety has been reimagined and transformed from the ground up, into one capable of ensuring the safety of all residents equally. It will not change until we make a collective commitment to honestly examine how the mindset of white supremacy, that white people are superior and more deserving of safety and liberty, is deeply embedded in our society and has conditioned us to expect a diminished version of justice for people of color. It will not change until we’ve rooted out this way of thinking and being from our institutions, one by one, and worked at an individual level to unlearn all that must be unlearned. Ultimately, I do believe it is important for us to lift up the times when we, collectively, get something right. We must examine what it took to get it right, so that we are more capable of repeating it in the future. I was struck by the way CNN’s Van Jones put it moments after the verdicts were announced, “I think of that young girl that brought out her cell phone, and who stood there in horror, not knowing what to do but just holding that phone steady, she did the right thing. All those community members who came and begged and pleaded and talked, they did the right thing. That EMT person did the right thing. When people called the police on the police they did the right thing. When the police chief fired this man, he did the right thing. People who marched by the millions, they did the right thing. And part of what the message has to be is that we have to get more involved.”  It is important to try to interpret victories like this as evidence that we are capable of becoming a country that truly embodies our ideals. Though we are a long, long way away from achieving this, it is only through faith in this possibility that we find renewed courage to continue fighting. Each of us has countless opportunities, every single day, to reject the status quo and engage in antiracist actions. So the next time you find yourself staring into the face of racism, subtle or overt, join me in asking yourself, “Am I doing the right thing?” Newer Posts Older Posts Back to Top 99 Bishop Allen Drive, Unit 129, Cambridge, MA, 02139, United States6178765214info@enrooteducation.org contact us info@enrooteducation.org (617) 876-5214 99 Bishop Allen Drive, Unit 129 | Cambridge, MA 02139 newsletter © enroot education 2025

Chauvin verdict is one small, but important, step toward accountability

Originally authored by Ben Clark, Executive Director of Enroot, and published in the Cambridge Chronicle on January 21, 2021.

Like many of you, the Derek Chauvin guilty verdicts brought me some measure of relief, as well as a heavy recognition that it represents just one tiny step in the right direction. Although it was right and important that Derek Chauvin be held accountable for the murder of George Floyd, we cannot and should not confuse the proper administration of justice in this one case with the larger systemic change we so desperately need.

These verdicts were an all too rare instance of accountability in the wake of what has for generations been a tragic daily occurrence for many Black and Brown people - suffering humiliation, injury and death at the hands of police sworn to protect them. Until such accountability is the norm, rather than the exception, we must all remain committed to, and fully engaged in, the fight for public safety reform and the dismantling of systemic racism. We must continue to fight for justice for Ma’Khia Bryant, Adam Toledo, Daunte Wright, Breonna Taylor, and the countless other Black and Brown individuals who are harmed or killed by police each day.

And even as we do, we must remember that a guilty verdict cannot bring George Floyd back as a daddy to his 7 year old daughter Gianna, as a partner to his girlfriend Courtney, or as a beloved community member to his friends and neighbors. The same is true for Ma’Khaia Bryant’s mother Paola, Adam Toledo’s mother Elizabeth, Daunte Wright’s 1 year old son Daunte Jr., and Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth. The loss for these families is permanent. It cannot be altered by guilty verdicts. 

As I struggle to process the killings of Ma’Khia Bryant at age 16, Adam Toledo at age 13, Daunte Wright at age 20, and Breonna Taylor at 26, it sat very heavily with me that this is the very same stage of life of most of the students that my team and I support at Enroot. These young people had their entire lives ahead of them. If they were really lucky, they may have even lived to see the year 2100. Another thing many Enroot students have in common with them is identifying racially as Black, Latino, or both. I reflected back on moments when Enroot students have confided in me and other staff members their feelings of insecurity around police - and how they didn’t feel this way in their home country.

The feeling of insecurity and fear that so many people of color experience when they or their loved ones interact with police is also not changed today. It will not change tomorrow. It will not change until our system of public safety has been reimagined and transformed from the ground up, into one capable of ensuring the safety of all residents equally. It will not change until we make a collective commitment to honestly examine how the mindset of white supremacy, that white people are superior and more deserving of safety and liberty, is deeply embedded in our society and has conditioned us to expect a diminished version of justice for people of color. It will not change until we’ve rooted out this way of thinking and being from our institutions, one by one, and worked at an individual level to unlearn all that must be unlearned.

Ultimately, I do believe it is important for us to lift up the times when we, collectively, get something right. We must examine what it took to get it right, so that we are more capable of repeating it in the future. I was struck by the way CNN’s Van Jones put it moments after the verdicts were announced, “I think of that young girl that brought out her cell phone, and who stood there in horror, not knowing what to do but just holding that phone steady, she did the right thing. All those community members who came and begged and pleaded and talked, they did the right thing. That EMT person did the right thing. When people called the police on the police they did the right thing. When the police chief fired this man, he did the right thing. People who marched by the millions, they did the right thing. And part of what the message has to be is that we have to get more involved.” 

It is important to try to interpret victories like this as evidence that we are capable of becoming a country that truly embodies our ideals. Though we are a long, long way away from achieving this, it is only through faith in this possibility that we find renewed courage to continue fighting.

Each of us has countless opportunities, every single day, to reject the status quo and engage in antiracist actions. So the next time you find yourself staring into the face of racism, subtle or overt, join me in asking yourself, “Am I doing the right thing?”