Megan O’Neill fourth from left) stands with some of her students at the Imagine Scholar’ facility in the Nkomazi region of South Africa.
“By supporting ‘Imagine Scholar’, you are providing access to empowering education – something everyone deserves to have!” Megan O’Neill
Imagine Scholar is an after-school, youth mentorship program working with high-achieving, low-income secondary school students based in the rural Nkomazi region of South Africa. Through academic enrichment and leadership training, students gain the skills to excel in school, become innovative thinkers, and gain the confidence to drive change in their community.
Former Old Lyme resident Megan O’Neill, who was a member of the Lyme-Old Lyme High School Class of 2011, serves as Imagine Scholar‘s Associate Director. She tells LymeLine.com exclusively, “After three and a half years of living and working on the ground in South Africa where I was a facilitator and mentor for our students, I’m now back in the US managing all advancement efforts including partnership and fundraising development.”
She is hosting a fundraiser for Imagine Scholar on Sunday, July 28, from 4 to 7 p.m., at Stone Acres Farm, 393 North Main St., Stonington. The event will include beer tasting from more than 10 local craft breweries, Woodfellas wood-fired pizza, live music and a silent auction. Tickets are $40 each and can be purchased in advance at bit.ly/ISStoneAcres. All of the proceeds from the event will benefit Imagine Scholar.
These students certainly seem to enjoy their ‘Imagine Scholar’ experience.
In addition to full-time public school enrollment, students attend Imagine Scholar an additional 26 hours per week. During their time in the program, students focus not only on general academic studies but also critical thinking, project management, learning to ask big questions, and becoming the future leaders in the local community.
O’Neill’s involvement with Imagine Scholar dates back to her time at Dickinson College, where she pursued her undergraduate degree. Between her freshman and sophomore years, she traveled to Kenya and assisted the nonprofit organization Marafiki Community for a month. In addition to teaching, she volunteered at orphanages and an internally displaced persons camp.
Students attend the ‘Imagine Scholar’ program for enrichment activities after a full day in public school.
The experience helped O’Neill decide on Africana Studies for her major, and in her junior year she began an internship with Imagine Scholar. After graduating from Dickinson, O’Neill was hired as Imagine Scholar’s Communications Manager and has spent 10 months of each year since working in South Africa.
She says, “At Imagine Scholar, we believe that there are smart kids everywhere in the world but the biggest defining factor is access to opportunity. Our program invests in youth development to cultivate South Africa’s powerful next-gen leaders. By supporting Imagine Scholar, you are providing access to empowering education – something everyone deserves to have!”