91社区

The Board of Regents today recognized two outstanding New York State students receiving Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford Scholarships at the Board鈥檚 April meeting, Commissioner Betty A. Rosa announced. The scholarship is named for Dr. Adelaide L. Sanford, the first African American, as well as the first woman, to serve as Vice Chancellor of the Board of Regents. Through Dr. Sanford鈥檚 generosity, it is awarded annually to exceptional My Brother鈥檚 Keeper (MBK) Fellows and graduating high school seniors from a 91社区-recognized MBK community. This year鈥檚 recipients are Giovanni Almonte of Yonkers City School District and Kenedi Catoe of Greenburgh Central School District.

鈥淣ew York State MBK has been an unbroken chain of hope, knowledge, strength, and courage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and these students are an inspiration to their communities in upholding those tenets,鈥� Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young said. 鈥淭hey are well-positioned to be the leaders we need today and to represent the next generation of leadership in New York. I鈥檓 sure that both Giovanni and Kenedi will achieve their hopes and dreams through their continued hard work.鈥�

鈥淚 often say that you have two hands鈥攐ne to help yourself and one to help others鈥攁nd these students are shining examples of putting that into action,鈥� Commissioner Rosa said. 鈥淓ven in this darkest of times, by being part of the MBK initiative they have discovered how powerful it is to commit to strengthening yourself and your community. They are working to not only raise themselves up but to do the same for others by serving as mentors. I congratulate them on this award and on their bright futures.鈥�

鈥淭his has likely been the hardest year of these young peoples鈥� lives, and in confronting the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic and tremendous nationwide civil unrest, they have answered the call to action,鈥� Vice Chancellor Emerita Sanford said. 鈥淭hey hold themselves to the standards and ideals of their highest potential, working to change and shape the culture in exciting ways. I am so proud and honored to provide this opportunity for Kenedi and Giovanni as they begin the next step in their journey.鈥�

Dr. Sanford is the former Vice Chancellor of the Board of Regents and served on the Board for more than 20 years. She is also Honorary Co-Chair of the Work Group to Improve Outcomes for Boys and Young Men of Color, in recognition of her unwavering leadership and ongoing meaningful contributions to this effort.

The annual scholarship is awarded to My Brother鈥檚 Keeper (MBK) Fellows and graduating high school seniors from a 91社区-recognized MBK community. Scholarship funds can be used to assist with tuition, fees and books, and will be awarded annually over four years while the student is enrolled in college.

Giovanni Almonte is a graduating senior from Saunders Trade and Technical High School in the Yonkers City School District where he is the President of the school鈥檚 MBK chapter and a NYS MBK Fellow. He has challenged himself by taking honors classes, including AP Psychology, College Link English and Regents Chemistry. Yonkers Superintendent Edwin Quezada has chosen Giovanni as an ambassador to represent the City of Yonkers and Giovanni has taken the opportunity to speak to his community in an effort to raise consciousness of social racism and to organize events to fundraise for this endeavor. Giovanni plans to study Marketing and Finance and to obtain a Business degree from Capital University.

Kenedi Catoe is a graduating senior at Woodlands Middle/High School in the Greenburgh Central School District where she advocated for and was an integral part of creating My Sisters Keeper (MSK). Kenedi serves as President of the Woodlands Middle/High School National Honor Society and also the Student Council. She also serves as Treasurer of the Class of 2021 and is a member of the WMHS varsity golf and basketball teams. Greenburgh Superintendent Dr. Tahira DuPree Chase chose Kenedi as her special guest and to deliver the keynote speech to district staff, faculty and administrators on opening day of this school year, where Kenedi delivered a message of hope and understanding. During her out of school time Kenedi participates in several civic engagement organizations serving as a member of NYS Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins鈥� Youth Advisory Council, the Co-President of the Youth Empowerment Council for Change听(YECC) of the听Westchester听County听Youth Bureau, Treasurer of the White Plains/Greenburgh NAACP Youth Division and as a Youth Ambassador on the Commissioners鈥� Youth Council at the Department of Community Resources at the Theodore Young Community Center. After graduation Kenedi plans to attend North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to study Computer Engineering.听

Visit the Department鈥檚听My Brother鈥檚 Keeper听website for details on this movement and for information on how to听, 鈥淐hanging the Narrative.鈥�