Giving Back to Their Community: RHS Grads Harrington, Stevens Appointed to Cultural Council

They were classmates in the Revere school system and now they’re newly appointed members of the Revere Cultural Council.

Revere High 2017 graduates Samantha Harrington and Lani Stevens were appointed to the Council by Mayor Brian Arrigo. Their appointments were confirmed unanimously by the City Council at its April 25 meeting.

Ward 4 Councillor Patrick Keefe lauded the two graduates’ noble intentions of returning after their college careers and wanting to be involved in their community.

“They are products of the city and the school system, and I’m so excited for them to give back to the city that gave them so much,” lauded Keefe. “We pride ourselves in developing great students who want to live here and help make our community better.”

Harrington, 23, is a research associate for Fidelity Investments. Stevens, who will turn 23 next week, is a mathematics teacher at Revere High School.

Let’s meet the new members of the Revere Cultural Commission:

Samantha Harrington

Samantha Harrington grew up in Revere and attended the Paul Revere School and Rumney Marsh Academy where she and Lani became classmates for three years in the RMA Pre-Advanced Placement program.

At Revere High Harrington played four years of varsity soccer and was team captain in her senior year. She served on the Student Council and was selected to the National Honor Society. She held an internship position at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department.

Harrington received a prestigious Posse Foundation Academic Scholarship, one of only ten students (out of 1,400 applicants) to be selected. Harrington chose to attend Centre College (Kentucky), one of the partner schools in the Posse program. She received her degree in English, with a minor in Global Commerce.

While a freshman in college, Harrington interned at U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s office in Boston and served as director of the Let’s Get Ready program, an SAT preparation program for students in low-income areas. Harrington began an internship at Fidelity Investments in her sophomore year and upon her graduation she began working at the world-renowned mutual fund company as a research associate.

“It’s really an honor to get to work here,” related Harrington. “I’ve had such a wonderful experience. Coming from a less traditional finance background, I felt it gave me the opportunity to branch out at a liberal arts school and take a plethora of classes, but also know that in the summers I was getting that finance education with the hands-on learning at Fidelity. My liberal arts background, particularly being an English major, has been super helpful. It’s really helped in the writing aspect of my position.”

Pursuing a Position on the Cultural Commission

Harrington said it was Mayor Arrigo’s Chief of Staff, Kim Hanton, who encouraged her to apply for a position on the Cultural Council.

“Kim thought it would be a great opportunity and that I would be a good fit for it,” said Harrington. “I’m really excited to be a part of it. In college, I was a part of the Diversity Student Union and with all these different opportunities I’ve had, such as the Posse Scholarship, I feel they’ve revolved around this idea of embracing different cultures and diverse backgrounds. I felt the Cultural Council would be a good opportunity to leverage some of that experience.

“Something that was instilled in me from the Posse Foundation was taking the skills you’ve learned in the classroom and trying to really foster those leadership skills and make a positive impact in the community,” added Harrington. “I felt the Cultural Commission was a great platform to come back to Revere and seeing the changes in the city, wanting to make sure that Revere is a place I can really reflect, foster, support and celebrate all the different types of people in Revere. And I am happy to serve on the Council with my friends, Lani [Stevens] and Chloe [Gladu], two other young people who are very passionate about the same things as me. As a member of the Council, I hope to develop new ideas for Revere and fresh ways to innovate and evolve Revere and the way that municipal government interacts in the community.”

Samantha is the daughter of Tim Harrington and Mamta Harrington. Her mother emigrated from India 30 years ago.

Samantha’s younger brother, Isaac Harrington, is a senior at Revere High School who will be attending the Wentworth Institute of Technology. He is a member of the school’s award-winning robotics team that just finished second in a national competition.

Lani Stevens

A lifelong resident of Revere, Stevens attended Lincoln Elementary School, Rumney Marsh Academy, and Revere High School.

“And now I’m back at Revere High School,” she said proudly. “I’m a 2017 graduate teaching future 2025 graduates.”

Stevens, 22, has been a mathematics teacher at Revere High School for the past two academic years.

She was an outstanding student herself at RHS and completed her college requirements in just three years of study at the University of New Hampshire, receiving degrees in Analytical Economics and Sustainability.

Lani is the daughter of Wayne Stevens and  Erin Stevens. She is the granddaughter of Wilma Stevens, also of Revere. She had two older brothers, Richard and Ryan.

Joining the Cultural Council

Stevens said she has always been interested in being active in her city’s government. She has participated in community service projects, but this is her first official appointment to a city board.

“I’m currently an employee with the city now as a teacher,” she noted. “But I’ve wanted to harness my economics background and put that to good use, especially for the diverse population of Revere.”

She will be contributing new ideas to the Cultural Council. “From what I’ve heard, they’re trying to revamp the Council and I want to be part of the reenergizing of its efforts,” said Stevens. “We want to excite the Council and convene more frequently as a group. I’m looking forward to meeting the other members at the next meeting.”

Lani said she is grateful to Mayor Arrigo for her appointment to the Cultural Council.

“He is an awesome person and an amazing mayor,” said Stevens, who was interviewed for the position by Mayor Arrigo’s aide, Juan Diego Jaramillo, a graduate of Columbia University and a former Rumney Marsh Academy student.

Stevens hopes her position on the Council spurs other people to become active in the community.

“I feel Sam, Chloe, and I are setting a good example for young people to get involved in their city,” said Stevens. “I hear my students talk about different extra-curricular activities they’re involved in, and it’s nice to have this piece on the Cultural Council that I can relate back to them. If they go to Revere High and continue in their education, I want them to realize these opportunities are differently in their realm.”