Hannah Sosenko

• Worked with the urban 4-H initiative on a summer youth development program, offering internships and opportunities for high school students to participate in community based projects
• Researched benefits and barriers to participation of summer youth employment programs and after school programs and wrote a policy brief, describing findings and providing recommendations
• Created a report of organizations across the county that have youth employment programs and descriptions of their goals, funding sources, and work tasks and/or curricula used

"I’ve learned taking the “high road” can be tough, but it’s extremely rewarding (I know, super cheesy but super true). And this applies to both non-profit work and interactions with people too. I’ve really learned the importance of kindness and being cognizant of the things I say and how they may impact someone of a different background who has had different experiences than I have. It also is not easy to devote your career to a project that you may never see through to the end, or that may not achieve the full progress desired. While Buffalo is not going to change dramatically overnight, so much progress has been made by the various organizations we all worked with and got to hear from on Fridays. This progress, even if it may seem insignificant to some, is necessary for creating a better Buffalo."

"Hannah was really on top of things. She helped plan the whole summer youth program! She also prepared other materials that were a significant contribution to our work supporting positive youth development programming in Buffalo and across Erie County."

Sara Jablonski,

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Erie County