For Dr. Andrea Dinan, everyone in the Princeton community has a story worth telling.
Before arriving at Princeton High School in 1996, Dinan worked for the nonprofit HomeFront and participated in Volunteers Service to America (VISTA). Initially, she expected to continue working in nonprofits, but a career pivot led her to education.
“[Princeton High School] was looking for someone to run a community service program. So [I thought] that would be a good fit,” said Dinan.
Dinan first oversaw community service programming at PHS and later taught U.S. history before expanding her work at PHS to include experiential learning, college access, and counseling. Her own high school experiences influenced the support she provides, particularly for first generation college students.
“I didn’t have a great high school experience,” said Dinan. “I remember how hard it was. But [during] In- School Suspension, [my guidance counselor] said, ‘You need to apply to college.’ And that changed everything.”
Over three decades at PHS, Dinan has assisted in coordinating community service clubs, tutoring, the Humans of Princeton initiative, and the Gen1 Club.
“I do keep in touch with a lot of alumni who go out and talk about how one community experience changed the trajectory of what they studied,” said Dinan.
Outside of school, Dinan is taking graduate classes through Harvard’s graduate education program. She believes continuing to learn allows her to further understand student experiences. In fact, it was during a course Dinan took on opportunity, race, and ethnicity at Harvard that she came up with the Humans of Princeton initiative. The initiative is largely inspired by the Humans of New York online storytelling project, as Dinan wanted students to learn about experiences of those in their own communities, which can be uncommon.
“There’s a lot of projects where people talk about an NFL player, an NBA player, or a famous author. But probably none of us are going to be that,” said Dinan. “I want to celebrate the people that are in the community that look like us.”
Lauren Fedorko, an English teacher who first met Dinan as a student teacher in 2010, brought the initiative into two junior English classes last year, involving approximately 50 students. They interviewed family, teachers, volunteers, and other people they encountered around Princeton.
Students who participated developed friendships with those they interviewed, establishing relationships that continued beyond the assignment. Lilja Darley ’27, interviewed an artist who regularly visits local soup kitchens, but continues to create art. She initially expected to spend 30 minutes with him, but their interview turned into a two-hour conversation about his history, background, and creative process.
“I would say probably the most important [part] … [was] seeing the really close connections that my students were building with community members,” said Fedorko.
Fedorko hopes to expand this year’s project to include 130 students and last up to three months.
“I think the one thing that surprised me the most was just the amount of joy students had while doing it,” said Fedorko. “So many of them came back and would say things like … ‘This was one of the best experiences I ever had.’”
Beyond the Humans of Princeton initiative, Dinan also mentors students organizing service projects and events. Sammie Shriram ’28 worked with her while creating the Day of Giving event, and received guidance on planning and student involvement.
“She’s just … a really great presence to have here,” said Shriram. “I think … the school won’t be the same after she retires.”
However, as she steps into retirement, Dinan wants the IDEAS Center to be her legacy, a tutoring center that started with just one student and has now reached hundreds.
“I just really hope that the programs stay in place,” said Dinan. “I think it’s incredibly important for kids to have an opportunity to give back, to learn from giving back, to explore passions. It’s really hard to break out of that expectation that you always need to go to an Ivy League school — that doesn’t mean you’re a nice person. You want to be good people [and] good citizens.”