The six Norton Fellows for the summer of 2026 — junior Simon Catrini, senior Lily Glasser, junior Yichen Liu, senior Jude Manger, senior Gabby Ospina, and junior Zayden Rashid — left an impact on people of all ages, here and abroad. Their projects ranged from planting a therapy garden to planting seeds of learning through Little Free Libraries. 

The fellowships, administered by the Norton Family Center for the Common Good, enable selected students to pursue their interests and become more engaged with their local communities over summer break. Rising juniors or seniors can apply. If chosen, each receives up to $1,000 to cover the expense of project materials.   

Junior Simon Catrini 

The project: A therapy garden at River Ridge at Avon, an assisted living facility in Avon, Conn. Simon is vice president of BridgeGen, a student-led intergenerational program founded by an Avon High School student that engages seniors in activities. 

Simon said he wanted to combine his love of nature with his desire to make a difference in the residents’ lives. “On a personal level,” Simon said, “it also reminded me of my grandparents, who love gardening. I felt that doing a project like this helps me connect with my grandparents, who live far away, while also creating another opportunity for meaningful connection with the residents at River Ridge. After coming in week after week and getting to know their stories, personalities, and genuine desire to connect with us, I wanted to create something that would continue reminding them of the relationships we had built together, even on the days we weren’t there.” 

Simon said the project changed the way he thinks about service. “Creating a meaningful impact isn’t about doing something big or complicated. It’s about creating experiences that people genuinely value.”  

The proof, in this case, was in the soil. “[The residents] became more comfortable each time, with new people wanting to get involved, all digging their hands into the soil and working as a team to make the beautiful garden. I noticed how much they enjoyed feeling the roots of the plants and moving their hands through the soil.” Many planted without gloves, “choosing instead to feel the soil with their bare hands, reminding me of why I wanted to start this project in the first place.” 

Senior Lily Glasser 

The project: Building two Little Free Libraries and filling them with donated books in her home state of Utah. 

One of the free libraries was built outside a free clinic serving those in need in Park City and Kamas. Lily worked with the person who runs the clinic, and they decided that 90 percent of the books would be in Spanish since that is the first language of most people the clinic serves. They also decided that the books would be a split of children’s books and adult books.  

The second library is at Peace House in Park City, a shelter serving men, women, and children coming from abusive or unhealthy relationships. The decision was made to stock books of all genres for children to adults. 

Lily got help from her father in constructing the Little Free Libraries, and book donations came from various places, including Loomis Chaffee. “The thing that stood out the most for me was how many people were willing to help and donate books to fill the libraries,” Lily said. She said she also was struck by how many people were using the libraries once they were up and running.  

“I wanted to do this project to make an impact,” she said, “and seeing it in real time have an effect on people is a great feeling.” 

Junior Yichen Liu 

The project: An art therapy program for children with autism “as a way to express their emotions and thoughts” at a hospital in her hometown of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, China. 

Her project took place in the Zhengzhou Neural Galaxy Healthcare facility, a hospital co-founded by her family. “A lot of my inspiration, drive, and motivation comes from my experience growing up in a family dedicated to serving and giving back,” she said. “My mom and both my grandparents worked in healthcare jobs in China.”  

When she was young, her family often brought her to work. She said she enjoyed “tagging along with my grandma,” who was a pediatrician. Yichen said she saw the genuine care her grandmother had for those in need and her dedication to caring for all patients. “The marginalized communities have always been present in my mind,” Yichen said. 

She said she was hoping to break the “stigma surrounding the neurodivergent by normalizing conversations about it in everyday life and showing the public the ways in which neurodivergent voices are unique but just as valuable.” 

In the beginning of August, to culminate the three weeks of the project, she arranged a gallery exhibit in the hospital, showcasing the students’ work. She also had art supplies on tables. “It was obvious the parents really loved it. Many kids who didn’t attend the art classes came and took a look, and a lot sat down at the tables and drew and colored,” she said.  

Senior Jude Manger 

The project: An oral microhistory for the village Rango in the Trentino region of Northern Italy, where his family has roots. Jude spent five weeks there this summer. “I have been visiting my mom’s family there at least once a year my whole life,” he said. 

Jude collaborated with a local museum, Museo Della Scuola Rango, to film five interviews with village elders born before 1950. He asked each a single question: What was Rango like in the past? He said the elders told stories about daily life, labor, immigration, population, war, school, and games. Life in a rural village at the time offered challenges, ranging from limited transportation to a lack of jobs. “Yet throughout all of this, they still found joy in games or their families,” Jude said.  

Jude edited footage from the interviews into a 30-minute film that he showed to about 30 people in the museum. “It was very satisfying to see their stories be told when they might have been forgotten, and I could tell it meant a lot to the interviewees,” Jude said. He said the regional government is considering funding future works like this, and he hopes to be a part of that preservation of history. 

“As I reflect on this experience, I find these interviews particularly valuable after having done a lot of macro historical studies about Italian immigration in U.S. history,” Jude said. “Hearing firsthand about residents who had siblings or friends who moved to the United States in search of work made my studies feel grounded.” 

Senior Gabby Ospina 

The project: Working with kids at the Wallingford Ulbrich Boys and Girls Club to create toys for animals at a shelter in Wallingford, Conn. 

Gabby attended the club during elementary and middle school and “met my lifelong best friends and learned valuable life lessons that I continue to carry to this day. To me, it wasn’t just a place, but rather a home. So, when I first learned about the Norton Fellowship program, I knew I wanted to give back.” 

Gabby worked with the kids three times a week to create do-it-yourself dog and cat toys. She said the kids were “excited to create something useful out of items that one wouldn’t usually prioritize.”  

For example, they made snuffle mats for dogs out of sink mats and pieces of felt, and shaker balls for cats out of ping pong balls, rice, and pieces of cardboard. They also made take-home pamphlets for new dog owners with tips on such things as training and care. 

“I found this project very fulfilling,” Gabby said. “Not only was I giving back to the [boys & girls club] and the animal shelter, but I also served as an inspiration to the youth. ... Seeing the excitement from the kids is what motivated me to give them my all.” 

Junior Zayden Rashid 

The project: A five-week intergenerational letter-writing program he called Seals of Hope connecting young people from the Red Bank (N.J.) Boys & Girls Club with older residents at a nursing home, the Villas of Holmdel.  

Each week, Zayen hosted sessions at each location with participants writing letters centered on a different theme, including “identity, meaningful memories, dreams and choices, lessons learned, and, finally, what we carry forward from the people we meet.”  

The idea, he said, was sparked by his relationship with his grandparents and his belief that there is “enormous value in conversations between generations. I became especially interested in the distance that often exists between younger and older generations: two groups with so much to learn from one another, yet so few opportunities to have genuine conversations. ... Letter writing seemed particularly meaningful in our highly digital world. It is a personal and profound art that requires thought and attention, rather than, for instance, sending an email or a text message.” 

He said he designed the themes in a sequence that would encourage participants to move toward more thoughtful conversations. Zayden said the experience was rewarding as he saw “each letter become more personal throughout the weeks, as the partners got more comfortable with each other. In this way, I count myself truly fortunate to have been the messenger between these generations.”