Submitted Photo Kaden Weeks, left, will attend Cornell University on a full-ride scholarship to study mathematics. The opportunity was made possible by the Liberty Partnership Program.

SILVER CREEK — Last fall, Kaden Weeks was unsure of what he planned to do after high school. By the end of the school year, he had a scholarship to Cornell University.

Weeks put in the work and had the skills it took to make it to the Ivy League. Thanks to guidance from the Liberty Partnership Program (LPP), he wound up in Cornell red. Liberty Partnership Program Adviser Sarah Miller shared his story with the Silver Creek Board of Education shortly before Weeks graduated.

Miller shared that Weeks sought out LPP last November after a friend urged him to learn more about the program. Weeks met with Miller and the two built a connection.

“We had a really great first one-on-one meeting, allowing me an opportunity to begin to understand not only who he was as a student, but who he was as a person, and identify where I might be able to support him,” Miller said.

Miller was impressed by Weeks’ intelligence, as he was among the district’s top 10 students. His love for mathematics was met with a desire to use his skills on a large scale, such as for NASA or pharmaceutical companies.

However, there was one thing standing in his way. Weeks did not plan to pursue higher education because he believed it would be too expensive.

Weeks is exactly the type of student the LPP is designed to support. LPP connects “at risk” middle and high school students to programs that inspire the pursuit of higher education. Per the State Department of Education, “LPP connects schools and community partners to offer research-based interventions, including tutorial services, mentoring, socio-emotional counseling, career and college exploration activities, and enrichment, as well as support for students and their families.”

Across the state, 46 higher education institutions collaborate in the LPP, including SUNY Fredonia. Miller has helped strengthen the partnership between the program at SUNY Fredonia and Silver Creek Central Schools.

“They connect with students and they bring them to a new level,” Silver Creek Superintendent Dr. Katie Ralston said. “The point is to help students uncover their potential.”

This past year, Miller helped students like Weeks in a variety of ways, including the creation of a college tracking template for each student to organize the schools they are considering, along with the cost of attendance and the awards available to them. The template provided students with a practical example to teach financial literacy as it pertains to their next step in their education.

The program also focused on building connections through the school, as well as providing engagement opportunities outside of school such as a career immersion trip visiting M&T Tech at Seneca One Tower. Students in grades eight to 10 visited the National Comedy Center to interact with students from other districts while learning about the history of comedy and the hurdles that many faced in the industry. Students also attended the Empire Promise Youth Summit, where they participated in development activities and built connections through networking.

Underclassmen visited SUNY Fredonia for a first-hand look at college life. Additionally, four Silver Creek students took a day trip to Cornell University to tour the campus, and one of them was Weeks.

Initially unsure of the prospects of attending an Ivy League school, Weeks was convinced by Miller to apply. The application fee was waived because he was part of the LPP, so Miller asked him, “What would hurt worse: Applying for free and getting rejected, or not applying and asking yourself, ‘What if?'”

After Miller inspired him to take the leap, Weeks applied to a handful of schools. He was accepted to all but one — NYU, where he was waitlisted. As Miller said, “Kaden decided that red was more his color.”

Weeks will study Mathematics and Actuarial Science at Cornell University, and thanks to an institutional grant, he will do so on a full-ride scholarship. He opened his acceptance letter with Miller at LPP.

“I was so grateful to be able to share that moment with him,” Miller said.

Weeks is among the 95% of graduates pursuing higher education at a college or university after participating in the LPP. Of the 20 graduates of the LPP in 2025 at Silver Creek, six are within the top ten of the class: Weeks, Makayla Kelly, Alexander Karnes, Josie Daniels, Isabella Daniels, and Silver Creek Valedictorian Karissa Buchanan.

When the year began, the program had approximately 80 students enrolled from middle school through all four levels at the high school. The program had grown to roughly 120 students by the end of the year.

Ralston said in celebrating Miller, “The program is only as good as the person behind it. You really have brought a different energy this year. It has been really amazing to see. Thank you for all the time that you’ve put in, because it’s making a very big difference.”

Later that week, Weeks graduated third in his class at Silver Creek. Before Weeks received his diploma, Miller said to the Board of Education, “If I had one big takeaway from LPP this year, it’s to always ask your students, ‘What if?'”