It was a celebration that brought more than 600 students from 60 area high schools together to break down the walls that divide urban and suburban worlds.

The Greater Philadelphia High School Convocation was held on April 23 at the Zellerbach Theater at the Annenberg Center as part of National Volunteer Week. The convocation was the culmination of a year-long effort by Ted Hershberg, director of Penn's Center for Greater Philadelphia. Last fall, he challenged city and suburban students to work together to improve the region's quality of life.

"We wanted to promote regional cooperation and build personal bridges of trust and friendship across the barriers of race, class and politics that characterize the metropolitan area," he said.

The students launched 13 projects under the following themes: Arts and Culture, Children and Family, Health Care, Housing, Multimedia, Parks and Recreation, and Independent Projects. Last Tuesday, displays filled the lobby of the Annenberg Center, highlighting the results.

Projects included murals painted for SEPTA train stations; various park cleanups; sessions at homeless shelters; housing-renovation work; educational sessions for schoolchildren; and the creation of a video about the differences and similarities between city and suburban high schools.

Teams were organized last December, and each included faculty advisors from a suburban and urban high school. Team leaders were the students themselves.

Students were honored for their volunteer efforts during an awards ceremony hosted by Channel 3 TV Sportscaster Ukee Washington (pictured above, signing autographs).

In a letter to the participants, former Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford praised the volunteers for their efforts.

"By participating in the convocation, you are joining thousands of high-school and college students across the country who are making important contributions to their communities," he wrote.

Wofford, who is now the chief executive officer of the Corporation for National Service, reminded the students that "the broader definition of community--treating the city and the suburbs as key components of a common region--will help us find new and productive ways to work together."

Return to Compass Features for April 30, 1996