Two recent SUNY Geneseo graduates have been selected as Rochester Youth Year (RYY) fellows for the 2017-18 school year.
Receiving fellowships are Antoinette Lubich-Claps ’17, a political science major from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Elizabeth Van Son ’16, a geography major from Rochester, N.Y. Both fellows will be working in Rochester City Schools with different assignments.
Rochester Youth Year is an AmeriCorps VISTA-sponsored social justice fellowship that strives to eradicate poverty for Rochester youth and families, strengthen communities, and promote community-centered leadership. Geneseo has partnered with RYY since its inception in 2007.
“Geneseo graduates are known for their commitment to service, and RYY has given many of our graduates the opportunity to provide valuable service for underserved areas of Rochester,” said Tom Matthews, associate dean for leadership and service and an RYY advisory board member. “I’m quite certain that Antoinette and Elizabeth will carry out their assignments with dedication and compassion, and I congratulate them both on being selected.”
The awards bring to 19 the number of fellowships Geneseo graduates have received since the program began. Four of the 14 current RYY fellows are Geneseo graduates and will complete their fellowships in July: Hannah Canale ’16, who has been serving as a family literacy liaison at the Discovery Charter School; Kyle Frink ’16, who has been a volunteer coordinator, trainer and recruiter as well as a project manager at the Center for Youth Crisis Nursery of Greater Rochester; Christina Mortellaro ’15, who did grant writing and publicity development for the M.K Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence; and Bradley Willows, who was project coordinator for Kiva Rochester, which provides loans for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Photo: Antoinette Lubich-Claps '17 (left) and Elizabeth Van Son '16.
Media Contact:
David Irwin
College Communications & Marketing
(585) 245-5529
Irwin@geneseo.edu