DXC Staffer receives Clinton Honors

March 16, 2010 - PRLog -- DAYTON, OH – University of Dayton graduate student and Dayton Christian Center (DXC) Fellow Drew Formentini has been selected as a participant in the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative to be held April 16-18 at the University of Miami, FL.

Formentini, a native of Glenview, IL, came to DXC, an 88-year-old faith-based community action organization, in September, 2009 through the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community, named for the university’s former president, Brother Raymond Fitz.  He, along with four other graduate students, was placed with downtown Dayton non-profit organizations as part of their course requirements.  As such, he now is not only a full-time student, but also puts in 20 hours  per week as a staff member at DXC.  During his time at DXC, Formentini has established himself as a leading part of the administrative team, working on developing a Health and Wellness program for the center and spearheading partnership collaborations on the East Side of Dayton.

“I enjoy being able to work independently on some of the projects and especially, now, working on the East Side and trying to rejuvenate our presence there and collaborate with different partners.  I think it’s a very talented group of people we’re working with,” Formentini said recently in an interview.

In fact, he credits his work at DXC as the reason he was selected for the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) honors.

“The reason I was selected, is directly because of the work I’m doing with DXC on behalf of UD,” he said.  He also said that his selection was partially due to his standing as a student at UD and his other experiences in the community.

The Clinton Global Initiative was founded in 2005 by former president Bill Clinton as a direct result of his experiences in office.  While president, Clinton found that there was a need for cooperation between governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and other global leaders confront and solve the major problems facing the world community today.  

“CGI is a national conference where student activists, both undergraduate and graduate, come together to participate in workshops, listen to speakers and interact with each other based on what they’re doing on their campuses,” Formentini said, adding that he feels it is an exceptional opportunity.   “This conference will allow me and others to come together and exchange ideas, exchange contact information and, really, hopefully share success stories on what has worked in certain situations to try to apply those things that I’ve learned [and] to bring them back to Dayton, as well as provide insight into things I’ve learned at UD as an undergraduate student as well as working at Dayton Christian Center to help provide information and guidance to other people on working on some of their projects.”

Formentini feels that his experiences here in Dayton, at UD and with DXC will serve him well as a school counselor, his field of study, and he is thankful for the opportunities he has had.

“Right now, it might seem like Dayton is at the end of the road, but I look at it a little differently,” Formentini said.  “I see it as a chance at a new beginning, and I think Dayton Christian Center is going to be a very important part of that new beginning.  I really believe that, and I am just so excited about being part of it all.”

Formentini also said that he was very grateful to the University of Dayton and the Fitz Center for the CGI opportunity.

“I really want to thank all the people at the Fitz Center, too.  If it wasn’t for the Fitz Center’s support, I wouldn’t be able to attend this conference and I am truly appreciative,” Formentini said.

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Dayton Christian Center is a faith-based non-profit community action organization founded in 1921 by the National Baptist Ministries, USA; one of 19 such centers in the US. Our mission is Enriching and Empowering Lives, One Choice At A Time.