In late August, Damon Motz-Storey ‘16 will start work with Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility (OPSR) as part of his fellowship with Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS) in Portland, Ore. He will become part of a volunteer group that promotes climate justice and nuclear non-proliferation.
“It is possible that I may pursue nonprofit work as a career path,” says Motz-Storey, “and this job is excellent practice for that.”
At Haverford he majored in mathematics and earned a concentration in education at Bryn Mawr College, all of which, he says, helped him build strong communication and reasoning skills. He will need such skills in his new position as a program assistant, whose main task is to coordinate outreach in support of OPSR’s activities. However, it is not only his formal education that prepared him for this new endeavor. During his time at the College, the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC) and Quaker Affairs Office funded his frequent visits to Washington D.C. with the Friends Committee on National Legislation. “As a result, I am headed to Portland with almost four years of experience in grassroots lobbying and community organizing that came from the Friends Committee and local student leadership at Haverford,” he says.
Motz-Storey’s involvement with Quaker life on campus actually is what led him to QVS. Had the Rufus Jones Fund for Quaker Leadership and Fellowship not paid for him to attend a conference on Quakers in business at the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Ind., he would not have met Christina Repoley, the founder and head of QVS.
“It felt like a good fit, particularly after living in community with other students in Quaker House at Haverford,” Motz-Storey says.
He is excited that his job will enable him to connect with other Haverford alumni, including Sonia Holdaway ‘13, who introduced him to Haverford when he was a prospective student. Several Motz-Storey’s classmates are also working for QVS.
Motz-Storey’s work will be a practical introduction to a life dedicated to the Quaker ideals of peace and community engagement. “Whatever it is that I end up doing with the rest of my life,” he says, “I hope to work towards promoting a more just and peaceful world on both a local and global scale.”
Photo: Caleb Eckert ’17
“Where They’re Headed” is a blog series reporting on the post-collegiate plans of recent Haverford graduates.