Making an Impact: January Service Spotlight

This month’s Service Spotlight features a pair of Kent Denver students who have demonstrated a passion for connecting with international communities through school-sponsored clubs and trips. 

Maddox ’27 joined a group of Upper School students on Kent Denver's annual two-week service adventure to Tanzania this past summer, helping build a school dormitory for the community while connecting with local students and exploring the country. Zach ’26 is one of three student leaders for the Upper School Rwanda Club, helping organize meetings and cross-cultural discussions and collaborations for students, including an every-other-year trip to Rwanda that he got to experience first-hand in the summer of 2024. 

Read below for more about their experiences and how these trips have deepened their commitment to service and highlighted the significance of international connections. 

Shortly after the 2024-25 school year ended, Maddox began his summer with a service trip to Tanzania—working to build a girls dormitory with his classmates and teacher chaperones. The team helped add stairs and a ramp to the building, as well as some of the wood for the roof. While the work was challenging, Maddox says he enjoyed the “assembly line” experience of working hard alongside friends, all for a valuable purpose. 

“It was really fun working together like a machine,” said Maddox, who also got to explore the country and spend time hanging out and playing games like soccer with the local students. “Most of all, even though we were helping another community, I feel like I got more out of the trip. The other students we met were so fun and kind. I liked connecting with them.”

As a junior, Maddox has already nearly doubled the required service hours needed for his graduation requirement. Some of those volunteer hours came at this year’s STAMP conference, where he had the opportunity to lead a workshop for middle schoolers on the topic of intersectionality and how different identities can affect how people are treated. Maddox says service experience—whether locally or internationally—is really impactful for someone his age. 

“I think it’s important to branch out of your community,” said Maddox. “Getting to know other people who have a different life experience than you and being able to help each other is really important for developing your character.” 

Zach also knows the value of international and cross-cultural connections. After his own positive experience on a service and cultural exchange trip in the summer of 2024, he’s now taken on a leadership role with the Rwanda Club at Kent Denver—helping inspire his peers to dive deeper into the culture and explore methods for further collaboration and learning. 

Following his sophomore year, Zach was part of a group of students that took a two-week trip to Rwanda in partnership with the Global Livingston Institute. There, they participated in a youth summit, getting to spend time with other students while also having the opportunity to travel the country and learn more about the history of the region. 

“That year in school, we had learned about the genocide that took place in Rwanda. Then, on the trip, we visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial museum,” Zach said. “I remember going around the memorial section and seeing plaques and memories and personal stories of children who had lost their lives. It was shocking. It’s one thing to learn about the statistics of such a terrible tragedy, but to see the personal details and read stories of the actual people who lost their lives, it really puts things into perspective.”

While on the trip, Zach and his classmates also had the incredible opportunity to meet and spend time with the Prime Minister of Rwanda to discuss the country’s domestic and international policies and vision for the future. 

“Hearing from the Prime Minister about how the region has progressed in the years following the tragedy was really interesting,” Zach said. “I think one thing that was definitely reinforced was that you have to learn from mistakes of the past. You can’t forget them. You grow from them and you learn how to be better. That’s a lesson I’ve tried to apply in school and in sports.”

Visit our website to learn more about Social Responsibility & Impact at Kent Denver, including service requirements for graduation. You can also find service-related summer travel opportunities offered by Kent Denver School and by our partner organization, Students Shoulder-to-Shoulder.