Welcome 2021 High Road and Democracy Summer Fellows!

The High Road Fellowship welcomed 22 incredible Cornell undergraduate students with a jam-packed orientation on Monday June 7th. This summer marks the 13th year of the High Road Fellowships and the 3rd year for the Democracy Summer Fellowships. Like last year, Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab modified its summer projects, panels, tours, and activities so it could bring Buffalo to its Fellows (virtually) rather than bringing students to Buffalo. The virtual setting has not slowed down any of the programming. In fact, it has made some community members even more accessible.

These Fellowships give undergraduate students an opportunity to participate in research, engaged learning and service in community-based economic development in Buffalo. Work that is even more essential now as organizations and community groups reckon with “reopening” while continuing to support those who have faced some of the greatest challenges this past year as a result of COVID and its impacts. 

The fellowship works with partners connected through the Partnership for the Public Good, a community-based think tank with over 300 networked partners. Students' projects are coordinated directly with community organizations and government officials. They range from mapping vacant houses, to creating informational videos about clearing records, from publishing reports on community voices, to creating websites, to attending mediations and rallies. In addition to the individual projects, students hear from High Road alumni, participate in team and skill-building sessions, and regularly reflect on their values, their experiences, their identities, and how those interplay with the world around them. They learn from labor leaders, worker cooperatives, climate justice activists, experts on racial justice, policy makers, state legislators and more.

Learn more about the High Road Fellowship and follow along throughout the summer as spotlights of students are shared on the ILR Buffalo Co-Lab Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and student reflections are featured as blogs.

Please join us in welcoming this extraordinary group:

• Alora Cisneroz, Los Gatos, CA, Freshman, Arts and Sciences, PUSH Buffalo
• Anh Dao Truc Lam, Vietnam, Freshman, ILR, Arts Services Initiative
• Callie McQuilkin, Ridgefield, CT, Junior, Arts & Sciences, Democracy Summer Fellow
• Hannah Drexler, Lewisburg, PA, Freshman, Arts & Sciences, Western New York Law Center
• Harry Ducrepin, Suffern, NY, Freshman, ILR, Cooperation Buffalo
• Jonathan Zheng, Elmhurst, NY, Junior, ILR, Buffalo Niagara Community Reinvestment Coalition
• Julia Haberfield, New York, NY, Sophomore, ILR, Habitat for Humanity Buffalo
• Katherine Esterl, Atlanta, GA, Freshman, Arts & Sciences, Preservation Buffalo Niagara
• Lizzie Taber, West Chazy, NY, Freshman, Human Ecology, Citizens for Regional Transit
• Kevin Diaz, Ridgefield, NJ, Freshman, ILR, Communications Workers of America-District 1
• Nabiha Qureshi, Melville, NY, Sophomore, ILR, Community Action Organization
• Margot Treadwell, Elma, NY, Freshman, ILR, FeedMore WNY
• Paul Havern, Warren, MI, Sophomore, ILR, Center for Employment Opportunities
• Raquel Zohar, Adventura, FL, Sophomore, ILR, Buffalo Jewish Community Relations Council
• Sabiha Obaid, Buffalo, NY, Sophomore, ILR, Center for Elder Law and Justice
• Salima Ali, Ozone Park, NY, Sophomore, ILR, The Foundry
• Sam Curtis, Scarborough, ME, Sophomore, ILR, Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology
• Samantha (Sam) Ivey, Mechanicville, NY, Freshman, ILR, Colored Girls Bike Too
• Uwaila Odiase, The Bronx, NY, Freshman, Arts & Sciences, Peaceprints of WNY
• Victor Rosas, Colorado Springs, CO, Junior, ILR, Partnership for the Public Good
• Wendy Wang, Whitestone, NY, Freshman, Arts & Sciences, Field and Fork Network
• Yasmin Ballew, Manteca, CA, Sophomore, ILR, Buffalo Urban League