Since 2018, Sam has been a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House in Ann Arbor, the home away from home that accommodates families with hospitalized children at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. In addition to being a front-of-house volunteer, Sam also supports the Red Shoe Affair, the annual fundraising event that generates around half a million dollars and directly supports house operations. Click here to learn more about the Ann Arbor house and click here to volunteer at the Ann Arbor house. Click here to read a volunteer spotlight on Sam in the Ronald McDonald House's newsletter, Heart Strings, on page four.

Sam is a commissioner on the Ann Arbor Commission on Disability Issues that was formed in 1969 to promote and advocate for equity within the city of Ann Arbor and its municipal government. His recent commission activity has included working with the Clerk's office to conduct polling place accessibility audits. Monthly commission meetings are broadcast on Ann Arbor's Community Television Network (CTN). Click here to learn more about the Ann Arbor Commission on Disability Issues.

Since 2021, Sam has been a DJ at WCBN-FM, Ann Arbor's historic freeform radio station. WCBN began as a carrier current station for University buildings in 1952, graduating to full FCC licensing and transmission in 1972. Click here to read more about WCBN's history. Sam's current radio show, Video Life, airs Mondays at 10 am. Tune in to 88.3 or click here to listen live. Click here to listen to past editions of Video Life and click here to view a spreadsheet of past setlists.

During the Fall 2023-Winter 2024 school year, Sam was voted into the School of Information's Doctoral Executive Committee (DEC), a group of PhD students that advocate for the interests of doctoral students and the community at large. The committee organized the department's elections, social events, and town hall meetings. The committee also supported new student orientation and student visiting days, as well as managed digital administrative tasks. During the Fall 2024-Winter 2025 school year, Sam was voted into the role of Doctoral Committee Student Representative, the student member of the School of Information's Doctoral Committee that "monitor(s) the quality of the program by periodically reviewing and evaluating its goals and guidelines."

During the Fall 2023 and Spring/Summer 2024 semesters, Sam worked as a facilitator for the English Language Institute's conversation circle program. Conversation circles were designed by the institute to support English-as-additional-language learners, providing a weekly casual environment to meet other international students and practice English. Click here to learn more or to volunteer as a facilitator. Additionally, click here for valuable information on grading multilingual students and click here for the video "What Multilingual Students Wish Their Professors Knew."

During the Fall 2023-Winter 2024 school year, Sam was a member of the Transfer Bridges to the Humanities program, the Mellon-funded program that supports the transition of community college students to the University of Michigan. In this capacity, Sam was a tutor in the Learning Center at Schoolcraft College, a public community college in Livonia, Michigan. Click here to learn more about the program and click here to read a news article about the program's recent work.

During the Fall 2024-Winter 2025 school year, Sam was one of two student coordinators for the STeMS (Science, Technology, Medicine and Society) speaker series, affiliated with the Science, Technology & Society program at the University of Michigan. This series brings STS scholars to the University to discuss their current research alongside theoretical and methodological debates in their given fields. Past speakers include Lorraine Daston, Mara Mills, and Edward Jones-Imhotep. Click here to learn more about the series and to see upcoming speakers.

From 2015-2019, Sam was a programmer and coordinator for the Cinetopia Film Festival. This work included events coordination in Detroit and Ann Arbor, film introductions at locations like the historic Michigan Theater, trips to neighboring film festivals like the Toronto International Film Festival, and the selection of films for the festival. Some of his favorite films from Cinetopia include The Wailing, RatFilm, Tribal Justice, Window Horses, and I Dream in Another Language. Click here to see more information about the Cinetopia Film Festival. Click here for a map of independent theaters in North America—find your local theater and go to it as often as possible.

For the 2024 nomination period, Sam was one of the James T. Neubacher Award committee members. The James T. Neubacher Award is presented to an affiliate of the University who has empowered people with disabilities, advocated for or advanced disability rights, or otherwise promoted disability inclusion. This award is given in honor of James T. Neubacher, the University of Michigan graduate and Free Press journalist who wrote the column "Disabled in Detroit." Click here to read archives of Jim's column (requires a ProQuest log-in). Click here to learn more about the award and click here to see past recipients.