More than 50 Staten Island students were inspired to achieve and
acknowledged for their academic accomplishments during a ceremony
held last night at the College of Staten Island, Willowbrook.
The students, from Curtis, Susan Wagner and New Dorp high schools
and Dreyfus Intermediate School, were enrolled in the Liberty
Partnerships Program, which hosted the event.
Funded by the state Department of Education, Liberty Partnerships
was instituted 13 years ago, as a dropout prevention program.
Director Debi Rose informed guests that 89 percent of students
enrolled in the program continue their education at the college
level. The program also has a 92 percent retention rate, she said.
"Some [students] started out not sure what they wanted to do, but we
worked with them and everyone has learned to set goals," said Ms.
Rose, who is a community activist on the North Shore.
"We know how hard they work, and we're very supportive. You just
don't know how proud we are -- we're proud of your parents, too,"
said Dr. Roberta B. Vogel, assistant director of the SEEK program at
CSI, a similar academic program for college students.
Assemblyman John Lavelle (D-North Shore) and other state lawmakers
helped restore funding for the Liberty program after it was
initially cut by 57 percent, Ms. Rose said. Mark Zink, representing
Lavelle, was present for the event.
Keynote speaker Mayda del Valle, a poet and Tony Award-winner who
starred in Russell Simmons' "Def Poetry" on Broadway, said: "When
you want something hard enough and you use your ability, you can do
it. You have to think, 'I'm the best one out there and no one can do
it the way I can.'"
Each student received a certificate of achievement and small gift.
The program's poety contest winners also were recognized.
