Posted on Jun 3, 2010

For several Union alumni and current students, it was child’s play.

Or at least it would be, when they finished.

A year after they graduated, Joe McCarthy, Jeremy Taglieri and Geoffrey Raynor were still in Schenectady, studying up on how to transform a neighborhood and children’s lives through an aging park playground in Hamilton Hill, a troubled city neighborhood.

This week, Project SKIP (Schenectady Kids Imagine and Play) became a reality, as President Stephen Ainlay, Mayor Brian Stratton, community organizers and others gathered for the official opening of the new playground in Jerry Burrell Park.

The alums got a big boost from Dana Goldsmith ’10 and Max Shapiro '10, as well as members of the Class of 2010, who contributed their senior class gift to the project. The playground was inspired by a similar playground built by the alums when they visited New Orleans to help after Hurricane Katrina.

“The highlight of that trip was volunteering on that community playground build,” said Taglieri. “It was so moving, seeing a neighborhood that had been so devastated, pull together and say ‘we own this community. . .we will rebuild it.’ In some ways, Project SKIP has been about me being able to relive that experience; to carry it and its lessons with me wherever I go.”

A number of faculty and staff also pitched in, working alongside members of the community to design, build and fund-raise for the new playground, which took nearly two years to complete.

“Building the new playground is the first and foremost goal, but beyond that it is really important for us to try to bring together the community,” said McCarthy, whose father, Kevin, is a carpenter at Union. “People have to take ownership of their own neighborhood. It isn’t enough to just drop a new playground in the community; it has to be done with the interest of the community in mind, which is why having some of the residents with the biggest stake in the playground working with us was so important.”

To read about the project in The Daily Gazette, click here.

To read a story in the Times Union, click here.

Posted on Jun 2, 2010

Valedictorian: Paul C. Hebert

Hometown: West Hartford, Conn.

Major: Chemistry

Activities: Hebert has been a tutor in chemistry, physics and mathematics. He was a member of the Aerogel Team, an interdisciplinary research program on the ultralight materials. He has presented research at meetings of the American Chemical Society. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi (the research honorary) and Eta Sigma Phi (the Greek and Latin honorary).

Plans after graduation: He plans to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, focusing on physical and environmental chemistry.

Salutatorian: Emily K. Feld

Hometown: Centerport, N.Y.

Major: Biology and sociology, double major

Activities:  A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Kappa Delta (Sociology Honor Society), Feld has been a Writing Center tutor, co-editor of the Sociology newsletter, a member of the Best Buddies Club and a volunteer at Ellis Hospital. She's also served as treasurer, social chair and house coordinator for her Minerva, Green House, in addition to participating in the New Orleans community service mini-term.

Plans after graduation: A member of Union's Leadership in Medicine Program, Feld will attend Albany Medical College in August. She is considering a career in internal medicine, specializing in the treatment of children.

Student Speaker: Nikhil Kothari

Hometown: Garden City, Long Island

Major: Biology

Minor: Economics

Activities: The vice president for academics on Student Forum and Delta Kappa Epsilon brother graduates with Dean’s List recognition. A student rep for Green House and for Gen Ed, Kothari was also a writing tutor and Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer. As a summer volunteer in Uganda, he worked with a street shelter network and refugee camp.

Plans after graduation: This summer, Kothari leaves for Estero de Platano, Ecuador, where, as a Minerva Fellow, he will work with the Yanapuma Foundation, an NGO dedicated to ecological, social and economic sustainability. The following year, Kothari will attend Stony Brook University School of Medicine, where his sister, Sejal Kothari ’06, is doing her residency.

Posted on Jun 2, 2010

Shortly after graduation, eight members of the Class of 2010 will head to Ecuador, Cambodia, Vietnam, Uganda and India as part of the College’s latest group of Minerva Fellows.

The eight will spend nine months paired with a social organization or community leaders to help the poor in developing countries. The group will return to Union next spring, where they will share their experiences with the campus community through a month-long series of forums.

The Minerva Fellows is a scholarship program designed to instill in new graduates an entrepreneurial approach to social problems and a lasting commitment to the poor. This marks the third year the College has sent a group of recent graduates to other parts of the globe.

As Hal Fried, the David L. '39 and Beverly B. Yunich Professor of Business Ethics, says, “Union College is stronger academically and morally because of Minerva Fellows. It is important for the College to take a position on relieving suffering around the world. It is one small way that we contribute to making the world a better place.”

The program is run by Tom McEvoy, associate dean of students and director of Minerva Progams.

To read more about the Minerva Fellows in the Union College Magazine, click here.

The latest Fellows and where they are headed:

• Allie Cuozzo and Nik Kothari | Organization: Yanapuma
  Location: Estero de Plano, Ecuador
• Elizabeth Osborne and Kate Murphy | Organization: The Global Child
  Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Sarah Yergeau and Elliot Harmon | Organization: Engeye
  Location: Ddgeye Village, Uganda
• Rachel Carson and Jeremy Fritzhand
  Organization: Friends of Hue | Location: Hue, Vietnam (Carson)
  Location: Bagru, India (Fitzhand)