Week of SUNY events remember King’s legacy
A full week of impactful initiatives at the State University of New York at Fredonia will honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Four alumni will reflect on their SUNY Fredonia experiences and how the life and legacy of King impacted them in their personal life and throughout their careers in separate fireside chats. Additionally, each will offer three takeaways/nuggets they have learned if they had known, as students at SUNY Fredonia, what they know now in their adult life what they would do differently.
All four alumni fireside chats will be held in the Williams Center Blue Lounge.
Michael Tuccio, a social studies teacher in the Jamestown City School System, will lead the inaugural fireside chat session on Monday from noon to 1:30 p.m. “Michael believes every student deserves the opportunities to persevere and that we need to take care of a student’s mental health as well as their physical health,” Sapp noted. Tuccio received a B.A. in Adolescence Education: Social Studies in 2000 and a M.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2005.
Jillian Hanesworth, founder/owner of Literacy Freedom, will give the second fireside chat on Tuesday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. An Emmy-winning spoken word artist, poet laureate emeritus of Buffalo and community activist, Hanesworth travels the world to perform poetry and speaks on topics that include art for activism, the impacts of storytelling and the importance of honest and critical social and political conversations. Hanesworth oversees Buffalo Books, a nationally recognized program whose goal is to help increase literacy races in communities of color on the east side of Buffalo by improving access to culturally relevant books. Hanesworth received a B.A. degree in Criminal Justice in 2014.
Jennie Billera, a music educator in Buffalo Public Schools, will give the third fireside chat on Wednesday, Jan. 29, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Ms. Billera prides herself on being an advocate of urban education and a strong proponent for the inclusion and education of all students, and she consistently works to ensure that her students have equitable learning experiences and opportunities in her classroom. Billera received a Mus.B. in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia in 2016, a M.S. in Inclusive Childhood Education from Nazareth College and a post-master’s certificate in Global and International Education from Northcentral University. She is currently enrolled in SUNY Fredonia’s online Advanced Certificate in Educational Leadership program and is also a doctoral candidate in the Learning and Teaching in Social Contexts program at the State University at Buffalo.
Nikkie Herman, director of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice education department at the University of Rochester, will give the final fireside chat on Thursday, Jan. 30, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Ms. Herman, whose career in student affairs in higher education spans more than 20 years, teaches the ACUE course on fostering a culture of belonging and co-facilitates her department’s White Affinity Group that encourages critical self-reflection on race, identity and systematic issues, fostering a supportive environment for growth and dialogue. Herman received a B.A. degree in Secondary Education: English in 1998.
On Saturday, Feb. 1, students, faculty and staff will be invited to join local non-profit organizations – the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry, Habitat for Humanity, Lakeshore Humane Society, Salvation Army and Prevention Works – to facilitate volunteerism.
“We are dedicated to supporting local organizations and SUNY Fredonia to come together to celebrate this remarkable event through giving back to the campus and local community. We hope this will be a start of forever friendships,” Director of Campus Life Mark Suida said.
More information on the week’s programs is available on SUNY Fredonia’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Presidential Commission webpage at https://www.fredonia.edu/about/offices/president/dr-mlk-presidential-commission
For more information about the Day of Service email Mark Suida at Mark.Suida@fredonia.edu.
The week’s events were organized by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Presidential Commission with sponsorship by the Carnahan Jackson Fund for the Humanities and the Collingwood Endowment Funds, both through the Fredonia College Foundation, and the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation.