2015 High Road Beginnings

Eighteen Cornell undergraduates arrived in Buffalo earlier this month to conduct research, assist with strategic planning, and develop new programming for nonprofits in the city. The incoming group of students will be the seventh class of High Road Fellows hosted by the Partnership for the Public Good, the Cornell ILR Extension Office and their partners. Since its inaugural year in 2009, the High Road Fellowship has brought 85 Cornell students to Western New York to learn from and contribute to the region’s renaissance through community-engaged service. Thanks to funding from Cornell’s Engaged Learning + Research, this summer marks the first time that students from outside of the ILR School are able to participate.

In past years, the High Road Fellows have developed skill-building activities for youth leaders on the West Side, investigated the potential for a Language Access Plan for the city and organized fundraising events for participating nonprofits. The new class of Fellows will work with organizations like Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Open Buffalo, the Massachusetts Avenue Project, the John R. Oishei Foundation, PUSH Buffalo and eleven others. Fellows will help grow the capacity of their sponsor organizations while simultaneously developing valuable research, leadership and communication skills.

In addition to their internships, the Class of 2015 High Road Fellows will spend each Friday visiting a new part Buffalo to learn from experts on issues of equity, sustainability and economic development. Their Fridays include a tour of the Bak USA production facility, a visit to the Colored Musicians Club and Nash House Museum, and a talk by a panel of experts about sustainable workforce development policy in the region.