1. Mary Ann Shaw Center
f o r p u b l i c a n d c o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e
Spring 2016 Newsletter

2. Literacy Initiatives
Community Engagement
Letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
The Shaw Center connects the University with community programs, projects and needs in Syracuse
and beyond.We have several different programs we are highlighting in this newsletter, including Service
Learning, Nutrition, Literacy Corps, Balancing the Books and Engineering Ambassadors.We have formed
new partnerships and programs, and gained new volunteers. Over the past few months, I’ve had the
pleasure to visit and photograph the different Shaw Center programs and see how they directly impact
students, youth and community.
We have chosen to specifically focus this newsletter on the volunteer quotes and senior intern
reflections.We’ve asked volunteers about their input on their respective programs and advice they would
give to those who might be interested in volunteering.
Throughout the newsletter, you will also see different sections on each program, including reflections
from our senior interns and program data.We hope you will click through each section.When the icons
are highlighted in orange, you can click on them and go to that page. Contact us if you are interested in
learning more at shawcenter@syr.edu.
Best,
Nina Mullin, Communication Design ‘17
PR Intern

3. Each academic year, the Shaw Center supports an
average of 25-30 courses that engage students
in community-based learning experiences. This
semester alone, we supported nine courses and
approximately 250 students. Service learning took
many forms; for example, student teams designed
and delivered health-related demonstrations and
programs, an entire class gathered information
and prepared written publicity materials, and
individual students volunteered with community
organizations to better understand the
connections between theory and practice.
Service
Learning

4. Service Learning Volunteers
“I learned the difference between service and true
community engagement.”
“Service learning forces you to interact with
new perspectives, cultures, and communities. It
enables you to impact someone else’s life and
likely change your life in some way as well.”
“My experience helped me understand the
importance of recognizing diverse types of literacies.”
“I think it is important for students to engage in
skill-based opportunities like [service learning].”

5. The Nutrition Volunteer Coordinators (NVC)
at the Shaw Center are involved in several
programs in and around the community.Their
goals are to facilitate community-based learning
experiences so that nutrition students can fulfill
their recommended 250 hours of volunteer
work.Volunteering prepares nutrition students to
develop skills that will make them competitive
in the dietetic internship process.The NVC give
nutrition students a place to start when looking
for volunteer opportunities, so that they are then
able to get more involved on their own.The NVC’s
are currently working on three ongoing programs:
Books and Cooks, Cooking on the Hillside and
Food Busters.
Nutrition

6. Nutrition Volunteers
“[The program] was fantastic and extremely
enriching. It gave me the chance to face the
social issues present in the US and gave me
some background I can use [in the future] when
developing nutrition education activities and
projects.”
“I think this program has broadened my view on
nutrition education, as it gave me the opportunity
to learn how to communicate the nutrition
information I have learned with others in an
efficient manner.”
“This program [was] very helpful in terms of
understanding how the “real world” may look at
nutrition. It is easy to forget that not everyone
loves whole wheat grains and broccoli.”

7. ChristinaMy role at the Shaw Center as a Nutrition
Volunteer Coordinator was to assist nutrition
students looking for nutrition related volunteer
opportunities. I was involved in managing the
Books and Cooks! ongoing nutrition program
my first year and transitioned to managing Food
Busters this past year. The biggest thing I’ve
learned working at the Shaw Center was how to
work with a community partner and to be flexible
when things don’t go as planned. Working at the
Shaw Center has had a great impact on my ability
to break down scientific nutrition guidelines and
present them in a way that anyone can understand
and relate to.
After graduation I will be going on to complete
my dietetic internship at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital in Boston. This year of rotations will
qualify me to sit for the RD exam, which must be
passed in order to work as a dietitian. I then hope
to start a career in clinical dietetics and eventually
have a larger impact by going into either nutrition
research or nutrition policy.
Christina LiPuma
Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics

8. Shaw Center Transportation Coordinators organize
a complex transportation system for Syracuse
University students who need to travel within the
city of Syracuse for academic and co-curricular
community experiences, such as student teaching,
tutoring, volunteer programs and internships.
They take student requests and manage a daily
schedule that accommodates student and
community needs.
Transportation

9. The biggest thing I’ve learned in my time here was
effective communication in a professional setting.
As a transportation coordinator, every day we are
in contact with our peers in the office, students,
faculty, and the bus company. Communication is
key to success in this position and I’ve learned
how to handle myself in a multitude of situations.
The Shaw Center has greatly impacted me.
During my time here I have seen myself grow
professionally, mentally, and emotionally.Working
everyday has forced me to manage my time better
and helped prepare me for professional life in an
office setting. I would not be nearly as ready for
the next phase of my life without my time at the
Shaw Center.
While my job search is still ongoing, my plan is to
move back home for anywhere from 6 – 18 months
and work in New York City.After I build up a big
enough base to live on my own, I hope to move
closer to or in New York City.
Working on the Shaw Center has been an
extremely rewarding situation. I am proud to have
worked here for as long as I have.The people I’ve
been fortunate enough to meet and work with
have made the job a joy. I will miss the center and
am extremely grateful for the opportunity.
Paul Haramis
Newhouse School of Communications
Paul

10. Literacy Corps
Literacy Corps, the Shaw Center’s largest and
most longstanding literacy initiative, is a cohort
of Syracuse University students who provide
literacy support to Syracuse City School District
(SCSD) students in classrooms and community
based organizations.Tutors primarily support
elementary students through one-on-one or small
group interactions, and complete trainings and
reflections throughout the course of their work to
explore the connections between their tutoring
work and academic interests.Tutors currently work
at 32 schools and community-based organizations.

11. Literacy Corps Tutors
“I learned that I really love working in the
classroom and specifically working one-on-one
with students doing intervention work. I learned
that many students need individual attention for
their emotional, cognitive and learning needs.”
“I learned that I want to continue educating others, and myself, about the inequities in the school
systems in Syracuse and elsewhere. I grew such a bond with my students, but I know they need so much
more than just me or what I can provide for them.”
“I learned a lot about teaching in an environment
that is widely diverse and the patience and
ingenuity that goes along with that diversity. I also
learned about the importance of communication
and organization.”
“I’ve learned how culturally ignorant I was before
emerging into the Syracuse City.At LeMoyne, I got
the opportunity to work with an amazing and truly
compassionate teacher that had a great positive
impact on her students’ lives. I’ve learned from her
that I could make a positive impact in my students
as well.”

12. Seniorsliteracy Corps
Click on each picture to read more

13. I am an intern with the Literacy Corps assisting
with daily office functions. I also serve as a
member of the Corps Council specifically working
with the Corps Council to fundraise for First Book.
This year, I was in charge of working to solicit
donations from area businesses to provide books
and other school supplies for students in the
Syracuse City School District.
The biggest lesson learned during my time with
the Literacy Corps is how important is to be aware
of the community in which you are working. It is
easy to make assumptions and plans to aid a
community, but without fully understanding the
obstacles those in the community are facing, you
are essentially pulling at straws.
The Shaw Center allowed me to work in and learn
about a community much different from my own
which changed my perspective when assessing
the needs of a community.Working in the Shaw
Center allowed me to begin to understand how
change within a community comes about and how
obstacles within a community bleed into other
important aspects of a community – socially,
economically, and politically.
As of right now, I do not have a post-graduation
plan, but am looking forward to pursuing
opportunities in Washington, D.C. with regard to
policy making and the ways in which political
organizing and activism influence political change.
Adam Magill-Goodskey
College of Arts and Sciences
Adam

14. I am one of the Co-Chairs for Literacy Corps
Council. Most of my time in the office is spent
working on things that need to be done for
Literacy Corps and Corps Council purposes, but I
also help with Literacy Corps administrative tasks,
like handling tutors absences or helping tutors
with any questions they may have.
The Shaw Center has allowed me to improve
my leadership skills in many ways. First of all, I
have been able to improve my communication
skills. Every day I am in the office, I have to be
communicating with the staff, other interns and
tutors. I have also learned to value teamwork.
One thing I have observed during my time
working as a Shaw Center Intern is that each of
the interns of the different programs within the
center realize how important effective teamwork
is.All of us are constantly working together to get
goals accomplished. I often observe the interns
from the Engineering program discuss upcoming
events and how each task will be completed. It is
the same for us in Literacy Corps and the other
interns in Balancing the Books, Nutrition, and
Transportation.
The Shaw Center has allowed me to meet great
people and learn so much from both the interns
and the professional staff. I am very grateful to
have been given the opportunity to work in the
Shaw Center.
Angie Herrera
Whitman School of Management
Angie

15. I am an intern with the Literacy Corps office, and
currently I work specifically with tutor training
on communities and school culture. I have been
with the Literacy Corps since my first semester
freshman year, and been a part of Corps Council
since my sophomore year.
The biggest thing I have learned in my time here
is that community is a constant, complicated
struggle. If we are fortunate enough, and work hard
to understand each other, then community is the
best place for marginalized people - particularly
thriving communities of color.
My plans after graduation include moving
to Brooklyn, NY to accept an offer with the
Uncommon Charter School network as an
assistant teacher for Middle School English. I
cannot wait to begin building relationships with
my students and community members in Brooklyn
through similar ways I have been able to do here
in Syracuse through the Shaw Center.
Sophia Bravo
College of Arts and Sciences
Bravo

16. FrancesThis year I worked in the office as an intern and
was also part of the training committee, and for
the past two years I worked in Dr. King Pre-K.The
biggest thing I learned during my time here is that
I am working in a larger institutional system that
does not want me, or the students in SCSD, to
succeed.
Working at the Shaw Center, I built a lot of
meaningful relationships that I am sure will
last, and I worked together with some folks to
start reimagining and recreating what justice
in classrooms could look like. I got to do this
especially as a part of the training committee,
where we developed a different way to engage
new tutors to understand the community that they
will be working with, and their place as Syracuse
University students in the Syracuse community.
I hope that one day there can be more meaningful
conversations surrounding power relations and
privilege held at the Shaw Center, and that my
work has allowed for a space to start that kind of
conversation. I also hope to continue this kind of
work into the future, and find a space where I and
the people around me can come together to be,
heal, and nourish each other with a lot of joy.
Frances Huang
College of Arts and Sciences

17. Weston I am a leadership intern in the Literacy Corps
office and am the Co-Chair of Corps Council.
I think the biggest thing I have learned is working
with people and how important it is to build strong
relationships.
The Shaw Center provided me my first work
experiences as a college student. I think my
experience with Literacy Corps and as a leadership
intern have definitely helped me as I navigated
other career fields.
I will be working for one to two years, then
going back to school for my Master’s in Public
Administration.
Weston Young
College of Arts and Sciences

18. Balancing the books
Balancing the Books (BTB), a Shaw Center literacy
initiative, engages students form Whitman School
of Management as tutors who work with Henninger
High School and Huntington Middle School
consistently over the course of one year to teach
students financial literacy and general life skills.
BTB intern leaders work with Whitman faculty,
business professionals, and alums to develop
lessons that are relevant and interesting to the
populations with whom they work.

19. Balancing the Books Volunteers
“I enjoyed working with the students and trying to
make a difference in their lives.”
“My biggest challenge was delivering my lessons.
I was nervous but it worked out alright.”
“The students grew more comfortable talking with
us even about things in their personal lives.”
“The campus visit and mock shark tank exercise
was fun. It really got the students participating.”
“BTB uses what we learn in class to help high school students.Without this program, it’s likely
they would not learn these lessons. I chose BTB because I have other experiences tutoring at
schools and thought it was beneficial and I liked using concept I’ve learned in Whitman at
this program. I would definitely recommend it to other Whitman students.”

20. SeniorsBalancing the Books
Click on each picture to read more

21. I am a coordinator for Balancing the Books. I had
a great year with my team and my co-workers;
meanwhile, I have learned so many things from
them.As a coordinator, I have to work with
different groups of people such as the tutors, the
students, and other kinds of people. I had to do
this in order to complete my work, which helps me
learn how to work with people outside my circle
of friends, including those who have different
backgrounds and experience.Additionally, I try
to remember that groups make better decisions
than individuals.We have weekly meetings to go
through all the important things together.That way
five of us could give suggestions from different
perspectives in order to come up with better
solutions.
After graduation, I am planning to work at least
two years, to better understand myself, what I
really want to learn and how it will benefit me in
the future. I will then apply for an MBA program.
I am so glad this is my first official job in my life,
and I love the big family in the Shaw Center that
support each other and share happiness together.
Hailey Hu
Whitman School of Management
Hailey

22. I am a program coordinator for the Balancing the
Books program. My role is to lead a group of 11
tutors who visit Henninger High School on a weekly
basis.We teach students about financial literacy
and other general life skills with topics ranging
from Budgeting and Saving to Leadership and
Social Styles.
I’ve learned a lot about setting expectations
and dealing with conflict.As a coordinator, there
are multiple occasions where you need to deal
with tutors who have failed to meet certain
requirements.Although these conversations may
be uncomfortable, they are important for the
benefit of the program as a whole.Additionally, I’ve
learned about working through office procedures
from picking up the phone to helping students
with their volunteer requests.
The Shaw Center has shown me what it means
to work in a professional setting with a diverse
group of people. Not only do I have to ensure
that I successfully complete the work related to
my program, I must also help with other office
procedures from transportation to Literacy Corps. I
have enjoyed working with people from all walks of
life and gaining invaluable interpersonal skills.
After graduation, I will be working at Ernst and
Young in their Structured Finance department
located in New York City.
I’ve loved working in the Shaw Center this past
year mostly because it has allowed me to meet
people that I might not have had the chance to
interact with otherwise!
Imran Khanbhai
Whitman School of Management
Imran

23. I have been working with the Shaw Center in one
way or another for all four years of college. My
freshman and sophomore years I was involved with
the Literacy Corps, then I interned over summer
2014, helping run the summer Literacy Corps
program.That summer I learned more about the
center and heard about Balancing the Books.
Colleen told me that they were looking for a
program manager. Since the fall of 2014, I’ve been
working with Balancing the Books in the Program
Manager position.
I love my job at the Shaw Center. I feel like I am
constantly learning new things and mastering skills
that are going to helpful in any job I have after
graduation.When talking about some of the things
I have to do in this position during job interviews,
interviewers are always impressed to hear about
how many responsibilities are entrusted to us by
the Shaw Center staff.Whether be something as
simple as answering phones or as extensive as
generating a final report, I am constantly being
challenged.
As for my plans for next year, I am not completely
sure what I will be doing. I am currently deciding
between a sales job and management program
with a company in New Jersey or a marketing and
communications internship with a nonprofit in San
Francisco. Either one that I choose, I am confident
that the skills I’ve learned at the Shaw Center will
prove to be extremely beneficial.
Jose Godinez
Whitman School of Management
Jose

24. I am one of the coordinators for Balancing the
Books, a financial literacy program designed to
engage Whitman School of Management students
into the local community and encourage local
Syracuse City School District students to pursue
their goals for the future.
During my internship in Shaw Center, I have
made awesome friends, got to know a lot of great
people, and learned various skills that could not
be gained from textbooks or any of the classes
I have taken.The biggest thing I have learned is
communication with people with totally different
backgrounds.As an international student myself,
I was shy with expressing my opinion and had
trouble describing things clearly at first, but now
I speak English confidently and am willing to
express myself.
I am going to continue my graduate study in
Syracuse’s master program.The time I spent in
Shaw Center will be treasured in life and the
experience I have gotten from interning in Shaw
Center will be extremely valuable to my future
career.
Run Zhang
Whitman School of Management
Run

25. Engineering Ambassadors are Syracuse University
College of Engineering and Computer Science
students who work with Syracuse City middle
school students, facilitating ‘discovery model’
science and engineering lessons.The program
supports Engineering students in the development
of leadership and career skills to enhance and
complement their coursework while fostering
middle school participants’ interest in the
sciences.
Engineering
Ambassadors

26. Engineering Ambassador Volunteers
“The program gave me a look into the Syracuse
school system and a fulfilling tutelage relationship.
I would be very willing to participate again.”
“It was very fun, informative, and challenging.The
workshops really pushed the kids to work hard and
be creative, and I could see that most were having
genuine fun and were genuinely interested.”
“I enjoyed this program and would definitely be
willing to participate again.‘10/10, would do
again!’”
“I have really enjoyed participating in the program and am glad I decided to join. I will definitely
participate again in the future.”

27. MonicaI am a site coordinator for Engineering
Ambassadors and I work as an intern in the Shaw
Center and Literacy Corps office. I have been part
of the Shaw Center for a year and a half and now
it’s my time to graduate.
The biggest thing I have learned in my time here
is how working with the Syracuse community has
allowed me to gain knowledge of the positive
impact that our program has on others and on
myself as a coordinator. This program impacted
my experience as a college student immensely; it
has provided me with motivation to give back to
the community and to become a better leader and
better self. It has helped me improve my personal
skills such as time management, planning ahead,
communicating effectively, being thoughtful of word
choices, and working with a team.
After graduation I plan on having a well-deserved
summer break back home in Puerto Rico. In
August, I will be moving to East Lansing, Michigan
to pursue a Ph.D. in bioengineering from Michigan
State University. I am excited to take what I have
learned in my time here and be able to engage
with the community over there. I already started
looking for similar programs like Engineering
Ambassadors and I’m excited to continue using my
skills to create a greater positive impact.
Monica Setien-Grafals
College of Engineering and Computer Science