Making an Impact

Roger Williams students are provided opportunities to participate in learning experiences that help university and community partners locally and globally. Mary Dinnean, an alumna with bachelors degrees in psychology and public health, is a great example of one of our students who made such an impact.

In fact, for her academic and volunteer work to address social justice and public health issues, Dinnean was one of 273 student across the nation to be honored as a 2017 Newman Civic Fellow. It's a huge honor, she said, that for her validates that social change is possible - that she has a powerful enough voice in society to create change.

Some examples of her work included her involvement in the Food Recovery Network, which collects the daily leftovers from RWU’s dining halls and brings it to local women’s shelters, she helped close the equity gap for those who lack access to food while keeping perfectly good food out of landfills. And as a peer educator with the on-campus Health and Wellness Educators (HAWEs), she counseled fellow students on sexual health and violence prevention.

And though she has had many mentors throughout her life, at RWU, Dinnean credited Professor Kerri Warren and Professor Erin Tooley for informing and inspiring her career goals. “Both are incredible women who have made immense changes in their fields, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them scaffolding me along.”

 She's now a graduate student at Boston University School of Public Health.