The Work That Sustains Us: A Celebration of MLK Day 2026

Five Proctor graduates spanning three decades gathered in the Meeting House this Monday morning for this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. The panel brought together a grassroots environmental organizer, a criminal defense lawyer leading a prisoners' rights project, a wellness practitioner building bridges with the African diaspora, an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investor and women's football world champion, and the founder of a nonprofit that builds young leaders and bridges the tuition gaps, allowing them to attend college. While their paths have diverged since Proctor, they held students' attention by speaking with warmth and honesty about their time here – and how their Proctor journey shaped the work they do now.

CC Calloway '85, Kadi Sibi '92, Tahanee Dunn '03, Joanna de Peña '08, and Stephanie Pascual '09 each brought distinct perspectives, but common themes emerged: the relationship between confidence and well-being, curiosity as a gateway to freedom and opportunity, the long game of working for change, and the importance of building relationships that sustain us through challenge.

Confidence and Well-Being

Joanna de Peña, founder and CEO of Top Notch Scholars Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to youth leadership development in the Greater Lawrence and Boston areas, put it simply: "I removed self-doubt from my vocabulary a long time ago. What's for me is for me. It's only a matter of time. Therefore, what's for you is for you."

CC Calloway, Director of Job Training at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, approached the question differently. He admitted that academics did not come easily for him. “I had to find something I could do well." For him, that turned out to be theater – not acting, but lights and sound – alongside athletics. "When you talk about confidence, you have to find something you're good at, make sure you do it well, and enjoy it." That confidence, he suggested, unlocks success in other areas.

Stephanie Pascual, who works at Trillium Asset Management focusing on ESG investing, spoke candidly about imposter syndrome, an experience many feel but rarely name. "I did not come from money. So imposter syndrome is part of my day-to-day life." Her response has been to lean on her knowledge and the alignment between her values and her work. "Learning to trust yourself, learning to trust the experiences you've had – that's the biggest piece

Tahanee Dunn, Director of the Prisoners' Rights Project at the Bronx Defenders, put it plainly: "Self-doubt can be cured by preparation." For her, the antidote is doing the work that earns trust – from others and in yourself.

Kadi Sibi, founder of Roots2Legacy, drew the connection between confidence and well-being explicitly: "Confidence is wellness. When we have self-doubt and insecurities, that has an effect on our nervous system." Then she paused the panel to lead the entire assembly through a breathing exercise. "Once we're able to regulate our nervous system, we can actually make choices from confidence."

Curiosity

When asked about the role of curiosity in creating change, Kadi offered a deceptively simple framework: "Who taught me this? Why was I taught this? And what happens if I do something different?" Those three questions, she suggested, can open paths through any system. "Curiosity is a good gateway to freedom."

Joanna's story brought both curiosity and perseverance to life. When COVID shut down a fundraiser that had been generating scholarship money for her organization, she and her team refused to stop. "We were just brainstorming. Long story short, we created an entrepreneurship academy where our students sell [natural spring water] to local businesses." What started as a $15,000 fundraiser has grown into an $80,000 scholarship fund. "Curiosity creates opportunities," Joanna said, "and it can catch like wildfire."

On the Long Game

CC has spent seventeen years working on environmental justice – green jobs, EV charging, and carbon reduction. His work contributed to the passage of New York City's Local Law 97, landmark legislation aimed at dramatically reducing carbon emissions from large buildings. "We got to the White House," he said. "We got all these tax credits. We're building solar, reducing carbon emissions." Then the political landscape shifted, and much of that progress was erased. CC paused. "What do you do?" His answer was characteristically direct: "You adapt." He is now bringing his expertise to a university, teaching the next generation.

On Speaking Up

Then a student asked the question that cut to the heart of the day: Have you experienced racism or feelings of being undervalued because of your background? How did you deal with that?

The panelists didn't flinch. Kadi acknowledged that she still experiences racism. "I try not to take it personally. I almost feel sorry for the person who has to feel afraid or superior." She was honest about the toll it takes on her: "It did erode some of my confidence at times. I did feel depressed at times." "When I am full of life and I'm confident, I want to connect with someone on that same level. I don't want to put somebody down, nor do I want to make someone feel othered."

Stephanie reframed the experience as a source of strength: "I would encourage you to use that as your superpower. You're going to go out in this world and be one of many. But that difference – being different – is what's going to make you powerful."

Tahanee emphasized the importance of finding safe spaces, urging students to identify the people they can trust and not be afraid to speak up about how things made them feel. She urged students who don't personally experience racism to check in with their peers. "That was a really important part of Proctor for me – knowing I had serious allyship among the student body."

Carrying Their Proctor Experiences With Them

When the panelists talked about Proctor, they kept returning to relationships – and the small acts of recognition that stayed with them. Joanna remembered World Language faculty member Alejandra Young's selflessness – making traditional Dominican breakfasts to help her feel at home while encouraging her to step outside her comfort zone and participate in Off-Campus Programs. "Everyone here is one word," she said. "Love. Just support everywhere you go."

Stephanie spoke about coaches Noreen Fifield and Megan Hardie, and how they taught a small basketball team, in stature and number, the value of hard work and not giving up. That persistence paid off: the team won the NEPSAC Class C Championship. "I carry that in my work every day," she said. "I don't give up because of what I learned on that basketball court."

CC arrived at Morton House during an era when the student culture was not always welcoming for new students. By senior year, he and his classmates had transformed Summerfield into "Summer Home,” a place where they were building community. "We did a lot of community work making sure our community was healthy," he reflected. That instinct never left him. "I build community from the ground up. I'm a grassroots organizer."

Kadi remembered Peter Southworth's English class, where she wrote her first autobiography. She handed it in late and waited anxiously by the mailboxes for her grade. "I got a 92. Five points off because it was late." She paused. "Something about having my story validated – I think from that moment forward I had a lot more respect for my voice and how important it was to get my story out."

Tahanee remembered an English class where Gregor Makechnie made an unexpected connection – linking Janet Jackson's "Pleasure Principle" to the literature they were studying. "I had a really hard time with reading and felt really self-conscious because of my learning disabilities," she said. "So it was invigorating to be in a space of literature and expression where I felt like who I was could be seen and understood." That class, she said, propelled her to keep learning through literature and to bring what she reads into her work today.

The Work Ahead

As CC reminded students before they left the Meeting House: "Make sure you take advantage of these opportunities. You're going to have tools in your toolbox that you don't even know you have until one day you need them!"

The takeaway was not any single piece of advice, but a thread running through each speaker's story: the work of building culture and community happens in small, daily actions. It asks us to trust ourselves and stay curious, to sustain relationships that will carry us through difficulties we cannot yet imagine, and to take care of ourselves so we have something to offer others. And when the landscape shifts, as it inevitably will, to adapt rather than give up.

Thank you to CC, Kadi, Tahanee, Joanna, and Stephanie for returning to share their stories, to Josie Ventura-Sanchez for organizing this year’s celebration, and to all the members of our professional community who led breakout sessions.

Follow Proctor on Instagram for More Content!