City Commissioner Offers Lunchtime Praise
for Students Overcoming Poverty Through St. John’s Pilot
Program
March 08, 2010
Top students in St. John’s new Advantage Academy, which enables
homeless and formerly homeless New Yorkers to earn associate
degrees, received the city’s praise at a March 4 luncheon with the
Commissioner for the Department
of Homeless Services (DHS), the University’s strategic partner
in this effort to fight poverty through education.
Robert V. Hess, Commissioner of DHS, and James P. Pellow, Ed.D.
Executive Vice President and COO of St. John’s, congratulated the
students over lunch at the Manhattan campus. “I’m very proud of
each and every one of you,” declared Commissioner Hess. “Thanks to
St. John’s, you and your classmates have access to a wonderful
opportunity — and you’ve really made the most of it.”
Launched on June 1, 2009, the two-year program is based at the Manhattan
campus. The Academy enrolls more than 40 homeless and formerly
homeless students pursuing associate degrees in Business and
Information Technology.
Students are taught by a select group of St. John’s professors
who serve as advisors and mentors. They benefit from peer tutoring
and specially designed workshops that prepare them for future
success. They also receive free housing through DHS as well as
career preparation and counseling through the New York City Human
Resources Administration.
The Advantage Academy offers students a path to more stable lives.
In New York, the average annual income for households with an
associate degree is $44,000, 30 percent higher than households
without the degree.
The program embodies St. John’s Catholic and Vincentian focus on
making a positive difference through education and service, said
Darren Morton, M.Ed., Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
and Director of The Vincentian
Institute for Social Action (VISA). The Advantage Academy
operates under the banner of VISA — a broad, structured environment
supporting programs through which St. John’s students and
professors seek solutions to global poverty and social
injustice.
“We’re helping people to move from the devastation of poverty and
homelessness to a place where they can be economically independent”
said Mr. Morton. “Through their studies, they have grown and
matured not just individually but as a group. We’re all proud of
what they’ve accomplished.”
Addressing the students, Dr. Pellow asked if they would be willing
to share what they learn as mentors to the next Advantage Academy
class. “It’s our job to pass on what we’ve learned,” said student
Randall Rolon. Another student, Tasha Adams, said that mentoring
was part of the Academy’s spirit. “We’re a family and we look out
for each other,” she said.