Name: Jacqueline Aranda
Major: Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR)
Graduation Year: 2010
Jacqueline Aranda’s best days are when she feels that she was able to make a difference, no matter how small, for someone who truly needs her help. She has found that empathy can be her best quality but that it can also cause her personal hardship. She looks forward to her project with the Public Service Center. Jacqueline has previously volunteered her time and efforts with Friends of Farmworkers (FoF), a student-run organization that teaches English to farmworkers in Tompkins County.
Name: Davina Chen
Major: Biology and Society Major
Graduation Year: 2011
Davina Chen is a passionate and hard working student who has been involved in a number of extracurricular activities including American Red Cross, Empathy, Assistance and Referral Services (EARS), Cornell Concert Commission, Relay for Life, and others. She attributes many of her successes to a supportive family. Her project interests include working with Art Beyond Cornell, a campus club that works with girls and boys in juvenile correctional facilities that exposes them to painting, learning a trade, and other artistic outlets.
Name: Courtney Evans
Major: English and American Studies
Graduation Year: 2011
Courtney Evans believes in the power of a smile. She respects the differences among cultures while embracing their similarities and uses her skills to bring people together. Her project interest is working with administrators and teachers in elementary and high schools to expand educational access where resources are scarce. Previous community involvement includes volunteering with The Embers, an Alzheimer’s Care Center, and St. Mary’s Elementary School.
Name: Rachel Mack
Major: Human Development
Graduation Year: 2010
Rachel Mack is self-described as gregarious, open-minded, and empathetic, yet analytical, focused and inquisitive. She has a strong interest in developing her personal relationships but also in understanding the human condition. She is interested in the field of relationship science and currently conducts research on adult attachment processes. Her project interest lies in utilizing attachment theory to educate those in need on the physical and emotional benefits of attachment bonds. Her previous volunteer experiences include interning at KidCamp, facilitating play therapy among children with developmental disabilities and tutoring Head Start children at the Greater Ithaca Activities Center through Raising Education Attainment Challenge.
Name: Murtza Manzur
Major: Economics
Graduation Year: 2011
Murta Manzur receives gratification from making those around him happy. He plans to spend his life as a physician who serves people in need of healthcare through the field of international public health. Manzur is interested in starting a large manufacturing business in Cap-Haitian in Haiti that will reinvest profits in education, health and small businesses. Community partners for this project would include the Bilal and Mosque Islamic Center, the diocese of Cap-Haitian, the Cornell Global Development Club, and the Microfinance Club. Previous volunteer experiences include working with Shads AGH Hospital and tutoring.
Name: Justin Min
Major: Government with a Minor in International Relations
Graduation Year: 2011
Justin Min is focused on serving the poor and oppressed in the world. This is a direct result of experiences such as his opportunity to work with a non-governmental agency in Maracaibo, Venezuela working with impoverished communities. Min’s project would focus on executing “the Ivy Project,” a project targeting Ivy League students to become active members of their local, national, and international communities and collaborate in public service and social just ice projects. He would work with the CPSC and the public service centers of other Ivy League Universities. His previous volunteer experiences include peer advising at the Cornell Career Services and youth outreach activities.
Name: Josette Pierre
Major: Biology and Biology and Society
Graduation Year: 2011
Josette Pierre is extremely energetic and is ready to use this energy to help others. Her years as a youth in Haiti surrounded by poverty and social upheaval has influenced her desire to become a doctor. Her project interest would focus on researching methods for improved communication between patients and their doctors. She would partner with the Ithaca Health Initiative and the Patient Advocacy Program at Cayuga Medical Center. Her prior volunteerism includes working with the Cornell Health International club.
Name: Rammy Salem
Major: Government
Graduation Year: 2010
Rammy Salem is described as an enthusiastic leader with a sincere desire to help people. His is interested in the HIV/AIDS impact on sub-Saharan Africa, and in particular Kenya. His project would entail working with Project Kenya at Cornell to improve nutrition education as it relates to HIV/AIDS. He hopes to partner with other students in Project Kenya at Cornell and a non-governmental organization, the ICODEI. His previous community service experiences include working with HIV positive children in African schools and volunteering to raise funds for battered women.
Name: Abigail Tatkow
Major: Human Development
Graduation Year: 2011
Abigail Tatkow is a responsible, organized and passionate person who is bothered by injustice and conflict. She has an instinctive need to make people feel comfortable. Her project would focus on leading a local Girl Scout troop in the local Ithaca-Tompkins County area. Her previous volunteer experiences include serving as a Wilderness Reflections Guide and working with a pro-environment organization to raise funds and support environmentally friendly legislation in Massachusetts.
Name: Elizabeth Woo
Major: Government, History
Graduation Year: 2011
Elizabeth Woo is adamant that actions speak louder than words and thus devotes herself to serving the less fortunate and always seeks opportunities to better the lives of others. Influenced by her sister who has a mental disability, Elizabeth would like to focus her project on high school students in Ithaca with mental disabilities. She would partner with a Cornell club, Best Buddies, which recently began conversations about working with Special Education program at Ithaca High School. Her pervious volunteer experiences include Best Buddies club at Cornell and volunteering in poor and needy communities.