Two Union students – Beth Wierzbieniec and Rachel Graham –
received 1998 Human Rights Youth Achievement Awards from the Schenectady County Human
Rights Commission on Wednesday.
Wierzbieniec, a junior from Amherst, N.Y., was cited for her
organization on campus of the recent “Dialogues on Race,” a month-long program
aimed at fostering diversity at Union. She recruited representatives from over 21
organizations to sponsor some 32 events. Wierzbieniec was recently elected president of
Student Forum.
Graham, a senior from Schenectady, was cited for her founding and
leadership of COCOA House in Schenectady's Hamilton Hill. Graham founded COCOA
(Children of Our Community Open to Achievement) at Grace Temple Church of God in Christ in
January 1996 as an afterschool program that includes tutoring, educational field trips and
speakers. Children of COCOA House this winter produced a play “The Untold Story”
as part of their celebration of Black History Month.