2026 Geneseo Student Ambassadors
Eddie Lee ’76 Ambassadorship for First Generation Students
Michelle Apodaca ’27
Testimonies of Natural Disaster in Mexico
How might documenting the overlooked stories of Poza Rica, Mexico’s flood-impacted families improve our understanding of their health, recovery, and resilience needs?
Severe flooding in Poza Rica, Veracruz has displaced thousands of families, many of whom continue to face limited government support, environmental contamination, and barriers to medical care. These challenges are often invisible outside the community, and the voices of those most affected are rarely heard. This project partners with the nonprofit Un Buen Grupo de Amigos (UBGA) to document residents’ lived experiences through interviews, collaborative storytelling, and on-the-ground observation. Over Summer 2026, I will assist UBGA’s medical brigades, gather community narratives, and produce a listening-centered documentary and report that amplify these stories and support more compassionate, community-driven disaster recovery.
Eddie Lee ’76 Ambassadorship in Sustainability
Muhtady Ahmed ‘
The Amazon Project
How might we translate scientific data into enforceable policy and land protection measures, to reduce environmental health risks for all species?
Illegal gold mining is spreading toxic mercury into the ecosystem of Madre de Dios, Peru. This is compromising the safety of Indigenous communities, environmental defenders, and every trophic level (The Food Chain). For my ambassador project, I will collaborate with Hoja Nueva, to gather environmental data that sheds light on the impact of illegal gold mining. This will include testing the water quality of affected areas and comparing them to similar unaffected waters, as well as deploying camera traps on apex predators to gather information on their movement and population patterns. My findings will contribute to efforts to address the issue of illegal gold mining in the region.
Edward Pettinella ’73 Endowed Ambassadorship in Business
Anna Hawkes ‘
The Gilded Fields Direct-to-Consumer Empowerment Project
How might we strengthen our rural economies and ensure long-term stability of today’s producers by transitioning small to mid-sized agricultural producers in Central New York to direct-to-consumer business models through hands-on consulting, education, and branding?
The Gilded Fields Direct-to-Consumer Empowerment Project seeks to address the economic challenges that small to mid-sized agricultural producers in Central New York face each and every day. Gilded Fields is there to support the farm’s transition from wholesale to direct-to-consumer business models. During our time, we will work through each step together, conducting in-depth business audits, developing strategic business plans tailored to the producer, designing branding material, and creating go-to-market strategies. Throughout the course of the project, I will collaborate with professionals from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Otsego and Schoharie Counties, local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, and other industry experts. Through these collaborations, I will put together a Direct-to Consumer Empowerment Workshop. This event will provide farmers with the knowledge, tools, and drive to take their futures into their own hands.
Frank Vafier ’74 Ambassadorship in Leadership
Zachary Boice ‘27, Chris Desiderio ‘28, Gavin George ‘28
Addressing Light Pollution at SUNY Geneseo
How might we examine and find meaningful and simple solutions to light pollution on Geneseo’s campus?
The level of light pollution in and around SUNY Geneseo’s campus poses a threat to public health and safety and to the habitats of native species, as well as obscures the natural beauty of the night sky for campus and village community members. We seek to reduce light pollution by targeting factors like overlighting and the use of cool-color lights. We will design an inexpensive covering that can be retrofitted on existing light fixtures, minimizing the amount of light that is directed into the sky instead of illuminating walkways.
Frank Vafier ’74 Ambassadorship in Leadership
Grace Sutherland ‘27
Determining Preventative Measures of African Sleeping Sickness: A Structural and Catalytic Analysis of Trypanosoma brucei Malate Dehydrogenase
How might we prevent the spread of African sleeping sickness by understanding how the parasite causing it functions and survives?
African sleeping sickness, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei, affects approximately 20,000 people globally each year and puts a population of 65 million people at risk (Trypanosomiasis, Human African (Sleeping Sickness) Fact Sheet | Africa Health Organisation, 2019). Investigating how this parasite survives at the molecular level can help guide future treatments. In this project, I am studying one of the parasite’s key enzymes, cytosolic malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and comparing it to the human MDH to understand what makes the parasite’s enzyme unique. Throughout this work, I will employ techniques such as kinetic assays, tryptophan fluorescence, and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS).
James Houston ’80 Ambassadorship in Innovation
James McNaughton ‘27, Collin Brown ‘27
RoomRun, a Playful Digital Literacy Program
How might a playful, exploratory, interest-driven learning experience influence adolescents’ intrinsic motivation, thereby fostering the development of authentic identities in ELA?
Despite research supporting the benefits of playful approaches to literacy (Kim & Johnson 2021), such practices have steadily declined in curricula as instructional time is redirected to standardized test preparation. While many are quick to blame the burgeoning influence of screens on students’ decline in literacy, we understand that learning is meant to be pleasurable (Gee 2006), and curricula centered around standardized testing are often displeasurable. In fact, students’ engagement with screens demonstrates the potential that digital media has to connect with students, not its threat to literacy itself. We will do research and then produce three playable areas in Minecraft Education Edition, a version of Minecraft designed to function as an educational tool. Students would explore a series of rooms, corridors, and portals pertaining to the text they are reading in class, and then create their own as their knowledge of the text grows deeper. We will pilot these playable areas with SUNY Geneseo students unaffiliated with the project in the spring and summer, and with secondary school students in the greater Rochester area.
John A. ’87 and MaryGrace ’84 Gleason Ambassadorship in Student Affairs
Gwenyth Harrington ‘26
Translating Verse into Narrative
How might the process of transcribing Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry and transforming it into visual and written art help me explore new paths for storytelling and self-expression?
This project explores how transcribing Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry and transforming it into visual and written art can open new avenues for storytelling and self-expression. Through close reading, transcription, and artistic adaptation, it engages Bishop’s themes of travel, grief, and nature, showing their relevance to contemporary creativity. The work culminates in a public broadside and curated portfolio that reimagines the poem for a modern audience. A collaborative seminar invites participants to interact with the transcription, offering cross-culture and interdisciplinary insights. The project highlights how dialogue with historical literature can inspire innovation, reflection, and new forms of artistic expression.
Ambassadorship for Diversity
Chloe Hirt ‘26, Kaleighanne Athens ‘26
Improving Access to LGBTQ+ Inclusive Literary Texts
How might we better prepare teachers to teach with diverse texts that include portrayals of LGBTQ+ individuals and disabilities?
Twenty-five percent of the books banned from schools in a single year were books featuring an LGBTQ+ character. Compared to their cisgender and heterosexual peers, 13% more LGBTQ+ youth have reported being bullied at school, and 28% more LGBTQ+ youth have seriously considered suicide. LGBTQ+ representation in schools is important to help students feel valued and supported. This can be done through incorporating modern and meaningful diverse texts into the classroom. To improve the representation of LGBTQ+ individuals and individuals with disabilities, we will host reading and book events throughout Livingston County to promote these texts, as well as provide sets of these texts to the Milne Library, Wadsworth Library, and schools in the area. We will provide lesson plans to help encourage educators to utilize these texts in their classrooms and increase the representation of LGBTQ+ individuals and individuals with disabilities in educational settings.
Keith ‘11 and Joanna ‘13 Walters Artist-in-Residence Ambassadorship
Katherine Penna ‘28
The Yellow Wallpaper Ballet
How might we center often “illegible” women’s mental health issues by using art as an empowering discourse?
The lack of care invested in women’s mental health has been an enduring issue both now and before Charlotte Perkins Gilman authored her radical short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” These concerns are often not understood and the people who suffer from them are stigmatized. This project will adapt Gilman’s story into a ballet, framing it with current events, to empower marginalized voices through movement, music, and color. Similar to the experiences of oppressed voices, the arts are often seen as “illegible.” By attempting to express these human concerns through a non-dominant, artistic discourse, this work seeks to decenter dominant ideologies surrounding nonnormative perceptions and narratives.
