18 ACUMEN • SPRING 2025 just knew he wanted a job where he could make a difference, which led to being a Community Fellow in the Bethlehem Area School District’s Office of Student Services while studying for his master’s degree in public policy. He never thought of working in a city school district— let alone the district that he had attended. Now he has a full-time job in the school district as supervisor of child accounting and as McKinneyVento Homeless Liaison. He tracks the district’s 13,000 students—a critical factor in ensuring funding. It includes tracking district residents who attend private or charter schools. “I try to make sure that we have the most up-to-date data and information on them, because that allows us to accurately report them to the state to get the best funding possible, which allows us to put more money into programs,” Hendricks says. “Depending on the student, that amounts to between $15,000 and $30,000 a year per student, and that money goes a long way in setting up our students to be successful.” As homeless liaison, he works with hospitals, shelters and community agencies, such as St. Luke’s University Hospital, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Third Street Alliance, and Victory House, to ensure that students have services that they need. He explains that his work is especially important in a district that has a diverse socioeconomic profile ranging from high- to lowincome areas. “All of our schools have some level of transiency because of the whole housing crisis, but we also have schools that have very low levels of transiency and being able to consistently support all of those schools in an equitable way across the board is a task,” he notes. Hendricks has been able to leverage skills gained in his graduate classes on the job. For example, he’s been able to draw on what he learned in “Mapping Data for Policy Making” as he maps school attendance areas using GIS software. Other graduates cite Pooley’s “Residential Segregation” class for offering valuable insights into factors that cause socio-economic groups to be housed in certain areas of a city. Hendricks’ current job responsibilities are quite different than those he handled as a Fellow. Then he was charged with helping revamp district policies, such as those governing student cell phone use, and worked with the school district’s Social Emotional Learning Initiatives. Tracey Hirner, director of student services, who supervised him as a Fellow, says the knowledge he gained working in her office informs what he does in his current role. “He has such a holistic understanding of the district. He has been in and out of all 22 of our buildings. So as a supervisor of child accounting, he’s got perspective. He’s dealing with the transiency of students from a child accounting perspective, but he also understands all the supports and what those students need,” Hirner says. “And he also knows how to manage his own staff effectively with compassion and grace. And I think, had he not been a Fellow, he would not be the same caliber of supervisor.” A Talent Pipeline for the Region Tracy Oscavich ’10G, director of administration for the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, says it’s no coincidence that several of their employees first joined the organization as Community Fellows. “We recognize the value of the program,” she states. “It’s something we talk about and budget for annually, because it is something that we know is a talent pipeline for us.” For the last decade, the commission, which provides a comprehensive plan ensuring the health, safety and welfare of residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties, has hosted one or more Fellows annually. Many of them have been hired permanently. Occasionally Fellows are chosen with an eye on anticipated staff openings. CHRISTINE KRESCHOLLEK
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