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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Youth Leader from Make the Road New York
6:02:16
·
158 sec
A senior at Brooklyn School for Math and Research and youth leader at Make the Road New York Student Success Center, testifies about the importance of Student Success Centers (SSCs) in supporting underfunded schools and providing crucial resources for students. He urges the city council to ensure continued and expanded funding for SSCs to support students' futures.
- He highlights the disparity in funding between schools in New York City, emphasizing how SSCs help bridge the gap in underserved areas like Bushwick campus.
- He shares personal experiences of how working at the SSC has helped him develop skills and provide peer support for college applications and financial aid processes.
- The testimony underscores the role of SSCs in offering academic support, professional development, and wellness services to diverse student populations.
Albert Tan
6:02:16
everyone.
6:02:17
My name is Albert Tan and I am a senior at the Brooklyn School for Math and Research, and I'm also a youth leader at Make the Road New York Student Success Center at Bushwick Campus.
6:02:26
This fall, I will be attending Stanford University, and I have had the opportunity to work with students from four schools on our campus.
6:02:34
Our Student Success Center has become a safe space to talk about different issues that my peers face.
6:02:40
Being a youth leader means getting to do what I love, helping people of all kinds no matter the circumstances.
6:02:45
Coming from a first generation low income background, I've experienced what it feels like to want help but not be able to get any.
6:02:53
Guiding students one on one throughout the college application and financial aid process is a way for me to both learn and grow.
6:02:59
Despite receiving youth leader training this past summer, sometimes I still fail to get every step or piece of information about the college process correct.
6:03:07
It's through hands on work at the Student Success Center that I get to fix my mistakes and improve.
6:03:13
There is a segregation of schools all across New York City.
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On one hand, there are schools that are flourishing because of the excess amount of funding they receive.
6:03:21
On the other hand, however, there are students like Bushwick campus that are severely underfunded.
6:03:27
This means we don't have enough counselors to meet the needs of our peers and the student success center has played a pivotal role in supporting those needs.
6:03:35
The SSC allows people of all kinds to help shelter and and shelter and information that they otherwise wouldn't be able to access at schools themselves.
6:03:46
Peers all across Bushwick campus visit the SSC every day and it's not just the same faces.
6:03:51
Working here, I see different people from all backgrounds getting academic support, professional development, and wellness support.
6:04:02
If the SSC failed to exist, finding the same information that advisors here specialize in would get a whole lot harder.
6:04:09
There is a bulletin board right at the entrance of the SSC that outlines many different services that people look at daily.
6:04:16
Even to me, as someone who received training, the SSC is invaluable in developing my interpersonal skills.
6:04:23
Here, I feel safe to socialize, ask questions, and have deep conversations with my advisors.
6:04:29
The SSC is where I feel I have informed I have formed lifelong connections and have been able to pass on knowledge to my peers on things that I have learned about the college process.
6:04:43
It is for this reason and so many more that I urge the city council to ensure continued and expanded funding for SSE so that students can receive support for their future.
6:04:54
Thank you.