'Student Voices, Student Choices' to return

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
·3 min read

Nov. 15—The Community Foundation of Otsego County will once again present its "Student Voices, Student Choices" program from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday, Nov. 20, at the Slade Theater on the fourth floor of Yager Hall at Hartwick College.

"Encouraging philanthropy throughout Otsego County is a major goal for the Community Foundation of Otsego County," a media release from the foundation said. CFOC held its first Student Voices, Student Choices event in 2022. The program for high school students "sharpens their focus on local needs and issues and encourages them to become leaders in their communities," the release said.

"Teenagers will see ways to help make Otsego County a more welcoming, inclusive, healthy, and opportunity-rich place to live and grow up," said Tim Lord, CFOC board member and co-founder/co-director of Dream Yard, an arts and social justice high school in the Bronx.

Everyone is welcome to watch the high school students as they present ideas on making Otsego County a better place for all, the release said.

The number of schools participating has grown from four to seven. All last year's teams will return — Cherry Valley-Springfield, Edmeston, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton and Richfield Springs. New teams will come from Unatego, Morris and Milford.

In the 22022 competition, GMU students won first place and $5,000 for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York's Backpack program that provides food to many schools in Otsego County.

The student teams will present their ideas to an audience and a panel of five judges: Cynthia Andela, president of Andela Products; Gary Kuch, director of the Clark Foundation Scholarship Program; Darren Reisberg, president of Hartwick College; Cheryl Robinson, president and CEO of New York Central Mutual Insurance Company; and Gretchen Sorin, director and professor of the Cooperstown Graduate Program.

After a successful first year, the release said, the foundation "looked for ways to improve the process by getting students together for an intensive (and fun) session on how to hone their skills to create a better presentation."

In preparation for this year's event, all of the student teams met for a day-long event at Hartwick College. High school students, from freshmen to seniors, were given college level instruction on how to innovate, research and problem-solve as they embarked on their projects.

In collaboration with Hartwick College, nearly 50 Otsego County high school students and their advisors were brought to campus. Mike Walsh, director of the Griffiths Center of Collaboration and Innovation, led team-building exercises and "spoke about empathy as the key starting point to creating ideas that work most effectively for all designs, but especially for projects focused on serving the needs of our fellow residents," the release said.

The first-place school will win $5,000 for its cause, second place will earn $4,000, third-place will get $3,000 and the other schools will receive $1,000 each.

"It's been so satisfying to see the Student Voices, Student Choices program develop," Lord said.