Brookline resident Catherine Marris will be coming in from New York, where she is wrapping up a dual bachelor’s degree program between SciencesPo in Paris and Columbia University to address her community at the Coolidge Corner Theater on April 27. Marris will begin working on her masters in global governance and diplomacy at the University of Oxford this fall.
When asked why she decided to break from her hectic work load at Columbia, Marris said, “I came back to speak because I think you, the Brookline Hub Awards, are really amazing, and it was a tremendous honor for me to be named Youth of the Year in 2012. I think youth are so important and can have a profound impact on their communities, if they believe in the power of their own voices in creating change. It is an enormous privilege for me to come and speak to youth leaders who have already had such an impact in the Town of Brookline, a place I love very much.”
Marris continued, “I’ll be speaking generally about some lessons I learned since leaving Brookline that I think would be useful for the youth leaders in the audience, for example keeping an open mind, not being afraid of failures, finding a supportive mentor, and making public service an integral part of your life, while trying to bring in my own experiences from college and beyond.”
Marris graduated from Brookline High School in 2012. While in Brookline she served as President of the Bay Youth Advisory Board to the Junior Red Cross, and she was a devoted member of the Brookline Literacy Partnership. Marris received the 2012 Brookline Youth of the Year Award, Brookline League of Voters Award, President’s Volunteer Service Award, Brookline Human Relations Commission Youth Leadership Award and the Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award.
Marris continued her amazing success and devotion to social service while in college in Paris and New York. She has received a Columbia University European Institute Fellowship and is a Columbia University Human Rights Department Summer Stipend Winner. She has served as the Community Chair of Columbia’s Red Cross Club.
Marris completed internships with the U.S. State Department and the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement (EGAM). She has a U.S. State Department Certification in Cyber Security. During her time at SciencesPo, Catherine studied political science, law, and became fluent in French. At Columbia, she is a Human Rights major, writing her senior thesis on the Syrian Refugee Crisis.
The 6th Brookline Youth Awards will be held April 27 from 7-9 pm at the Coolidge Corner Theater. The event’s Principal Sponsors are BrooklineHub.com and the Town of Brookline. Thanks to the generosity of the Coolidge Corner Theater, admission is free. This is a community event. All are welcome.
The evening focuses on the special contributions of young people, and features video interviews of Youth Award recipients and student performances. Rene Feuerman of the Brookline Food Pantry and Dana Brigham of Brookline Booksmith will also be honored and have their video interviews shown on the big screen.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren will address the audience by video, congratulating the recipients and mentioning their accomplishments. Sen. Warren will also introduce the 2016 Brookline Youth of the Year.
