Adam Simon ’26: Community Advocate & Impactful Volunteer

Adam Simon ’26 is a Psychology major from Portland, Oregon. Four years of community-based work through the Career and Community Engagement Center (CCEC) connected academics with real-world impact at Whitman College, earned him recognition as a 2024–2025 Newman Civic Fellow and shaped his future goals in community advocacy.

Adam’s Whitman Highlights

• CCEC Community Engagement Leader
• Studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 2024–2025 Newman Civic Fellow

Adam’s Whitman experience has been deeply shaped by his involvement with the Whitman CCEC. Since his first year, he’s worked with community programs like the Buddy Program, Whitman Friends Program, Food Justice Project, Blue Mountain Therapeutic Riding, STAR Project and, most recently, as a fellow with the Walla Walla Immigrant Rights Coalition. Through this work, he explored what a nonprofit career could look like and developed a clear sense of the kind of impact he hopes to make.

A class that changed Adam’s life was Restorative Justice (PHIL-218) at the Washington State Penitentiary (WSP) with Senior Lecturer of Philosophy and General Studies Mitch Clearfield. Through conversations with incarcerated individuals, he gained new perspectives on justice and community. He later expanded on this work, shadowing Melissa Clearfield, Laura and Carl Peterson Endowed Chair of Social Sciences and Professor of Psychology, in a trauma psychoeducation group inside WSP.

Adam studied abroad in Buenos Aires, taking classes at local universities while interning with the Argentine Red Cross. Through the Whitman Internship Grant, he had the opportunity to work in Mexico City, providing psychological and emotional support for children with cancer.

As he wrapped up his senior year, his Psychology thesis explored how gender role conflict impacts men living with chronic pain. After graduation, he plans to continue community-based nonprofit work, especially involving youth mentorship, healthcare and immigrant justice.