Name: Maxwell Lemay (he/him)

Where is home to you? Attleboro, Massachusetts 

Placement Site: Beat the Streets

Education: B.A. Psychology and Anthropology, New York University 

Biography: Maxwell is a 2019-2020 AmeriCorps VISTA member serving as an Impact Evaluator with Beat The Streets Providence. Beat The Streets is a non-profit extracurricular wrestling program committed to inspiring urban youth for success in school and life. Throughout his service year, Maxwell aims to refine data management and assessment practices, engage in volunteer recruitment, complete grant applications, and take part in other systems building. Prior to serving with AmeriCorps, Max studied cognitive psychology and sociocultural anthropology at NYU where he was drawn to poverty alleviation and public health altogether. He’s been fortunate to serve with a range of nonprofits including The American Red Cross, The Apollo Theatre in Harlem, and The Amos House here in Providence. In his off-time, Max enjoys a quality cup of tea, long-distance running, and spending time with friends and family. 

Why I Serve: I serve because I believe helping others is a cause that knows no bounds. Be it the simplest, most cliche of deeds like holding the door open for a fellow earth dweller or the most demanding and revered like a 2-year PeaceCorps service term, acting in kindness helps uplift the moral fabric of humankind unconditionally. For me, AmeriCorps has offered the opportunity to actualize this deep-rooted philanthropic calling not as a job description, but as a personal operating system one can extrapolate to life. On a more practical level, I grew up in the Providence metropolitan area, and making a local impact with tangible results is important to me. 

Why Brown University AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship? The Swearer Center’s mission is one that resonated particularly with me. Addressing community challenges through scholarship, education, and community involvement is a relationship that is reciprocal in nature; it benefits all parties involved. In addition to this, their outreach as an intermediary that connects community partners with socially motivated individuals is second to none. I believe their breadth of resources assists in developing a more effective service member that will be a part of durable change.