Starting in February and continuing until April, each class of 2027 advisery will be paired with an Embarc classroom in Chicago to participate in community service. Embarc Chicago is New Trier High School’s partner organization: a nonprofit that aims to create opportunities for kids in 20 Chicago Public high schools (CPS). 

Each New Trier advisery room will pick an organization and volunteer at a location of their choosing with other students from an Embarc classroom. This could be anywhere from a pet shelter to a soup kitchen. Students from both schools will then eat lunch together once the experience is over. This is a significant change from last year, when only the Student Leadership Council met with students from Embarc classrooms while everyone else made kits in advisery that would later be dropped off at their intended schools. 

“I really care about doing service with and not for,” Adviser Chair Cindy Fialka said. “We care about the dignity of other students and we want kids to be proud of their high schools. We really think that we benefit just as much as another group of students would from this service experience.”

Along with the main service project, Fialka, Assistant Principal Matt Koulentes, and the Student Leadership Council for the class of 2027 do additional, smaller projects with Embarc. This involves planning fundraisers and dropping off necessities like food, clothes, and hygiene kits at Embarc-partnered schools.

“Our goal is to help support them [students in CPS] the best we can,” Junior Kate Wald of the Student Leadership Council said. “If we have the opportunity and the resources to make that possible, I think it’s very important we take advantage of that to help other kids out.”

The recent government shutdown, which ended on Nov. 12, has made New Trier and Embarc’s shared mission all the more urgent. Fialka explained that Sullivan High School, for example, has many students in temporary living situations. Because of this, one of the teachers employed there regularly goes to nearby food banks to get resources for students and their families. 

“It [the government shutdown] has impacted our timeline,” Fialka said. “We weren’t expecting to do some things before Thanksgiving Break, but we were just compelled to respond to their needs and try to get food and hygiene kits over there as soon as we could.”

Wald said collaborating with Embarc classroom students gives her a perspective she thinks is important for anyone living in the New Trier community.

“It’s hard to know just how severe the issue is, just hearing about it, but seeing it first hand, you really understand the severity,” Wald said. “The basic necessities we take for granted in daily life, that’s not even a possibility for these kids.”