How Being Part of the Fred Rogers Scholars...

Kayleigh Thompson, Fred Rogers Scholar, Early Childhood Education Major, Disability Studies Minor, Saint Vincent College Class of 2026

"If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person." - Fred Rogers

The Fred Rogers Scholars Program at Saint Vincent has given me access to indispensable experiences that have shaped my college career that I couldn’t get anywhere else. When a new scholar is inducted into the program, they choose their favorite Fred quote and write about why it stands out to them. The quote that I chose is the one above, and it doesn’t just pertain to me and my induction. This quote connects to not only my future profession as a teacher but also as a Scholar and an active community member. The Scholars Program allows students to access service programs and activities that involve the local community, particularly Latrobe, PA. 

Of these service opportunities, there are many to choose from. As a junior, I’ve gotten to partake in a variety of these experiences that have given me the opportunity to interact with other Scholars as well as community members. One of the larger service projects that Scholars can participate in is selecting pieces from the archive to display at the Latrobe Art Center. When trying to select pieces for the exhibit, you get the opportunity to learn more about Fred and his impact on the community. When all of the pieces are selected, we are given certain artifacts to look more into and write a description about them, which I enjoy because I love learning the history behind the artifacts. Once this is done, the exhibit is put together and open to the community to come visit. Here, you get to interact with members of the community who often have some sort of connection to Fred– from fans of the show to those with a personal connection. 

This past semester, I got to be involved in the Latrobe Elementary School Friendship Group for my service project. As a member of the group, Scholars get to meet with students in the group during lunch and do an activity with them that involves spreading kindness in the school.

Smaller community service opportunities are offered to Scholars, such as volunteering at the Grove Food Pantry, volunteering on campus in various ways, and making donations to organizations such as the MAYA Organization, Beverly’s Birthdays, and Latrobe Hospital. 

In addition to community service, every year we have Kindness Week and Fred Forever Week. During these weeks, the Scholars spread kindness over campus in Fred’s honor by running a table that has some sort of kindness-themed activity, such as “Fred-ship” bracelets, tie-dye, trolleygrams, flowers, etc.

These service projects have been rewarding for me. They often take a lot of work and time to get to the end result, but once it’s all done, it feels great to look back on the entire experience and appreciate the opportunity you had to make an impact on the community in some way. You don’t always get to see the impact at the time of the project, and in the moment you may not even realize the impact you get to make on others, but you can know in your heart that you’re doing something that makes a difference. 

Overall, being part of the Fred Rogers Scholars Program has been such a rewarding experience for me! You get to be part of something that is making a positive impact on the community and you get to do it alongside peers who are also interested in spreading kindness and keeping Fred’s legacy going. 

Everything I have gotten to do as a Scholar connects to my future career as a teacher because education revolves around service to others. As I prepare to start student teaching this coming fall and graduate in the spring after that, I hope to continue Fred’s legacy beyond campus by working to establish a welcoming environment within the classroom where every child is accepted for who they are by making it known that every student has value in the classroom and incorporating teachings from Fred into lessons, especially those that involve social-emotional learning.