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Event News

One Night for Dallas 2024 highlights campus and community leaders

2023-24 Engage Dallas Staff at One Night for Dallas. Photo Credit: SMU

Community partners and campus leaders gathered at the Moody Graduate School on April 9th for the 3rd Annual One Night for Dallas reception, celebrating the impact of community engagement on the Hilltop. 

Dr. Toni Harrison-Kelly and Willie Baronet. Photo Credit: SMU

This year’s theme was “Dallas is Home,” and keynote addresses were delivered by the Executive Director of the Budd Center, Dr. Toni Harrison-Kelly, and SMU Professor in Creative Advertising Willie Baronet. Baronet also serves as the Armstrong Faculty-in-Residence and creator of the We Are All Homeless Project.

One Night for Dallas was also an opportunity for campus and community partners to hear from our Student Directors and why they participate in Engage Dallas. For Loyd Commons Student Director Kate Alonzo ‘26, her ”why” is personal.

Engage Dallas Student Director Kate Alonzo ’26. Photo Credit: SMU

“We can look at community service as serving the community. But South Dallas is not just a community, it’s my community,” Alonzo said. “Engage Dallas enables me to serve my own hometown, and I’m proud of that.”

The annual celebration is a joint effort between Engage Dallas and the Office of Social Change and Intercultural Engagement (SCIE), reflecting upon the collective impact that SMU students have had on the community during the academic year. Engage Dallas was proud to highlight that 571 students collectively spent 1,378 hours directly serving the community across 41 student-led service events during the 2023-24 academic school year.

Danielle Palomo, Coordinator for Community Engagement. Photo Credit: SMU

Danielle Palomo, Coordinator for Community Engagement, reflected on the work of SCIE community engagement student organizations.

“Reflecting on Alternative Breaks, one student said, ‘It was a valuable experience and something I’ll never forget. I was able to form relationships and help people start a new life here which was amazing.,’” Palomo shared. ” I could not be prouder of our students and looks forward to all the work they continue to do to serve their city.”

The night ended with remarks from Engage Dallas Initiative Manager Audryanna Reed and the presentation of campus and community-nominated awards.  Award Recipients are as follows:

Outstanding Community Partner

  • Dallas Furniture Bank
  • Jubilee Park and Community Center

Do Good for Dallas Award 

  • Emmanuel Garcia
  • Lourdes Randle

Outstanding Student Leader

  • Hannah Green, MHPS Commons

Outstanding Student Director

  • Miles Chen, Kathy Crow Commons

Outstanding Faculty and Staff

  • Laura Robinson Doyle, Department of Applied Physiology and Sport Management
Award Recipients. Photo Credit: SMU

Engage Dallas would like to thank the staff, faculty, students, and community partners again for their participation and support. We look forward to celebrating again on April 9, 2025!

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Announcements News

Engage Dallas completes Phase One of the Residential Commons Photo Project

Phase One of the Photo Project in Boaz Commons. Photo Credit: Tulsi Ram Lohani

Engage Dallas, in partnership with Residential Community Directors, is excited to announce the completion of Phase One of the Engage Dallas Photo Project.

The Engage Dallas Residential Commons Photo Project is an effort to regularly display photos of current students serving through Engage Dallas in the community, accompanied by information on each commons’ specific community-identified need. 

Engage Dallas Program Assistant Sophia Kang ‘27 worked closely with the RCDs to identify and select images of Engage Dallas volunteers to highlight the commitment to service in each Residential Commons to complete the project’s first phase. 

Engage Dallas Program Assistant Sophia Kang ’27. Photo Credit: Tulsi Ram Lohani

“Working on the project and highlighting my friends’ hard work and dedication to service through their commons was a fulfilling experience,” Kang said. “The partnership with the RCDs made this a special project.” 

Phase Two of the project will commence in the summer with refreshed images from spring Engage Dallas service events and the expansion of images in Cockrell-McIntosh, Morris-McGinnis, Loyd, and Virginia-Snider Commons.

Engage Dallas would like to thank and highlight SMU Photography and SMU Facilities for their partnership in making this project possible. 

Please contact engagedallas@smu.edu if you have any images or suggestions for expanding student recognition of community service in our Residential Commons.

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Announcements Community Partners Event News

Engage Dallas Hosts 3rd Community Partner Council Meeting

Engage Dallas kicked off the 3rd quarter Community Partner Council meeting on February 9 at Austin Street Center. Organizations represented include Sunny South Community Garden, Keep Dallas Beautiful, LNESC, The Senior Source, Dallas Furniture Bank, Brother Bill’s Helping Hands, Jubilee Park & Community Center, and Austin Street Center. Community partners offered feedback on upcoming Engage Dallas events to ensure that they are community-centered and a value-add to all attendees.

The group learned about non-profit leadership and collaboration from Austin Street Center’s CEO, Daniel Roby. Roby also shared about the ways that Austin Street Center supports those experiencing homelessness. The day was completed with a tour of the newly opened center where community partners explored the commercial kitchen, donation drop-off process, dining facility & engagement center, and more. Community partners also learned about the many volunteer opportunities at Austin Street Center. Huge thanks to Jill Young, Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager, for coordinating the visit. Learn more about Austin Street Center here.

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Announcements Event News

2nd Annual Place-Based Community Engagement Symposium a success

The 2nd Annual Place-based Community Engagement Symposium was a success last week. Participants engaged around the theme of “Listening, Learning, and Leading: A Place-based Approach to Promoting Public Responsibility and Community Engagement in a COVID-impacted World.” 114 registered for the two-day symposium.

The conference planning committee chose this theme due to their observation of the challenges posed by COVID-19; our community engagement landscape has evolved significantly, from decreased volunteer participation to heightened community needs.

Conference registrants helped shape this year’s symposium. The planning committee had over 60 questions submitted for our opening session and panel discussion. Plus, questions were arranged as discussion topics at the networking event on Thursday evening.

Audryanna Reed, Associate Director for High-Impact Practices, Co-initiative Manager of Engage Dallas, and Chair of the conference planning committee, shared, “Engage Dallas is grateful for the opportunity to bring together non-profit and civic leaders in Dallas as well as staff and faculty across SMU and Dallas College. Such inspiring words, cultural context, and critical challenges posed by our keynotes Latosha Bruff and Jerry L. Hawkins, M.Ed., as well as our panelists and workshop hosts!”

A copy of the program booklet is included below.

Reed and the conference planning committee are underway with year three planning. Building off the dialogue from this year’s conference, the theme will likely incorporate the concept of “under-championed communities,” which was prevalent in this year’s sessions. Reed says to expect a save the date soon for the November 2024 symposium.

This Engage Dallas symposium collaborated with Residence Life & Student Housing, The Budd Center, The Office of General Education, the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics & Public Responsibility, and The Center for Teaching Excellence.

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News Reflections

The Inaugural Engage Dallas Bus Tour

Group picture in front of the Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House.

The inaugural Engage Dallas Bus tour took place on September 8. A total of 27 students participated and explored several historical sites around Dallas. We are so grateful to have partnered with Dallas Truth, Racial Healing, & Transformation who led the tour. In many ways, the tour highlighted the way that race and race relations in Dallas have impacted the lives of many Dallas natives. The tour also adds clarity to Engage Dallas’ place-based approach to service.

The tour went as follows:

Stop 1: John Neely Bryan Cabin, Old Red Courthouse, and Martyrs Park.

Students reading about John Neely Bryan’s Cabin.

Stop 2: Allen Brooks Marker

Stop 3: Pike Park and Santos Rodriguez Memorial

Students at the Santos Rodriguez Memorial.

Stop 4: Freedman’s Cemetery and Memorial

Stop 5: Booker T. Washington High School, St. Paul United Methodist Church, and Old Moreland YMCA.

Stop 6: Dallas Heritage Village, Millermore Mansion, and Gano House

Stop 7: Juanita J. Craft Civil Rights House

In a post-event assessment, some of the students shared what they learned from the tour. One student shared:

“I learned about how gentrification of towns can affect racial demographics.” Another said: “I learned about important people like Juanita Craft and Santos Rodriguez.”

Other students shared what they liked about the event.

“I liked how we were able to see some landmarks, and information about important people that I didn’t know existed.”

Another student expressed, “I liked to see the women’s representation during that period [of time].”

We’d like to acknowledge that all students who participated earned 4.5 hours of general engagement that go towards their Community Engagement and/or Civics & Individual Ethics Proficiency.

We hope to make this tour an annual event.

Stay connected with us by following @smu.engage.dallas on Instagram!