Geneseo provides an ideal environment for students seeking independent learning experiences such as ambassadorships offered through the Center for Inquiry, Discovery and Development.
GENESEO, N.Y. – Ten SUNY Geneseo students are serving as ambassadors in the college’s Center for Inquiry, Discovery and Development (CIDD) for the 2017-18 school year.
This is the sixth year of the ambassadorship program. Working through the CIDD, Student Ambassadors pursue opportunities to develop active learning projects that connect academic work, co-curricular experiences, and community engagement. Student ambassadors are encouraged to design projects that ask meaningful questions about real-world problems and issues, synthesize knowledge and skills drawn from multiple disciplines, and make connections between their academic programs, personal experiences, and co-curricular life.
Student ambassadorships are awards provided by generous donors to fund individual grants of $5,000 each for ambassadors in varied disciplines to carry out self-directed, transformational projects on campus, within the local community or around the world. Their ambassadorship began this summer and will extend through the school year.
Here’s a list of the 2017-18 ambassadorships and project titles (all hometowns are in New York unless otherwise noted):
Frank Vafier ’74 Ambassadors in Leadership
Samantha Martin from Saranac Lake
“Ni Una Menos-A New Movement Against Gender Violence in Chile”
This ethnographic research project will be carried out principally in Valparaíso, Chile. It seeks to capture the goals, methods, and effectiveness of Ni Una Menos, a new movement against gender violence and femicide in Latin America.
Frank Vafier ’74 Ambassadors in Leadership
Sofia Villalón from Hopewell Junction
“Credo Kitchen”
Credo Kitchen invites local refugees and immigrants to share a taste of their home through food and storytelling.
James Houston ’80 Ambassador in Innovation
Patrick Buckley from Horseheads
“Building Trust Between Science and Society in Geneseo and Beyond”
Created the Discovery Cafe, which supports the betterment of society by using trust-building events to facilitate mutually engaging connections between scientists, researchers, and Western New Yorkers.
Community Advocates Ambassador in Community Engagement
Sarah Jane Phillips from Waterford
“From Mentors to Main Street: The Freshman Integration Initiative”
A student mentor program for incoming students to meet upperclassmen on campus to help them feel connected to the Geneseo Community.
Ambassador in Diversity
Jenna Lawson from Pembroke
“The ToKnight Show”
The ToKnight show is a late night comedy-style show that focuses on marginalized perspectives through sketches, improvisation, and musical performances.
John A. ’87 and MaryGrace ’84 Gleason Ambassador in Student Affairs
Kitrick McCoy from Albany
“Tunneling through Barriers: Inclusive Pedagogy in Higher Education”
This project aims to inform the higher education community on methods to better promote access and inclusion of students with learning disabilities to promote innovation.
Edward Pettinella ’73 Ambassador in Business
Samuel Randall from Pittsford
“Prolivio: Feel Better Today, Know Better Tomorrow”
Worked with BZDesign, a Rochester Industrial design firm, through the formation, validation and growth of a prototype aimed at relieving pain that migraine sufferers face.
CAS Ambassador in Entrepreneurship
Colleen Steward from Gowanda
“StandUp Leadership Marketing Expansion”
StandUp Leadership is committed to facilitating leadership events on college campuses for qualified, yet overshadowed high school students and offers colleges an opportunity to recruit students they may not otherwise reach.
Gérard Gouvernet Ambassador in French Language and Culture
Trevis Lipnicky from Delmar
“Perceptions of American Transnational Corporations in Dakar, Senegal”
This research project analyzes the complex political and economic relationships between transnational corporations and the people of the Francophone developing world.
Eddie Lee ’76 First Generation Ambassador
Arlenis Santana from the Bronx
“Malnutrition and Educational Setbacks in School-aged Children in Nicaragua: How is Kinship a Resilient Factor of Malnourishment”
This project combined data collection process and community building to address issues of childhood malnutrition in Jiquelite, Nicaragua.
The CIDD and affiliated offices (Fellowships and Scholarships, the Institute for Community Well Being, and the Edgar Fellows honor program) support a range of integrative and applied learning programs, work with students and faculty to sustain and build innovative learning experiences, and cultivate opportunities for collaboration between the college and community partners. As a center for integrative learning on campus, the CIDD seeks to support programs that engage students with the application of academic knowledge and skills to real world contexts. Joe Cope, professor of history, is CIDD director.
News release written by College Communications & Marketing intern Kitrick McCoy.