Meet Our Student Ambassadors

Geneseo Student Ambassadors collaborate with community members in locations as close as the villages of Geneseo and Mt. Morris and as far away as Nicaragua, Nepal, and Ghana. Uniting their work is a spirit of inquiry, creative problem solving, and attention to advancing SUNY Geneseo’s commitment to the public good. Learn more about the application process.

2022 Ambassadors

Community Advocates Ambassadorship in Community Engagement:

Brennan Wilcox '24. Let's Get Vaccinated

How might we create a research-based vaccine outreach framework, using a process of empathizing, validating, and educating, to combat misinformation in the vaccine-hesitant community?

The Ambassadorship in Diversity:

Jocelyn Haines '24, Re-plating Civic Engagement

How might we use design thinking to teach Geneseo students how to engage in more sustainable civic engagement using food insecurity in Uganda as an example?

The John A. '87 and MaryGrace '84 Gleason Ambassadorship in Student Affairs

Lauren Goulet '22 and Brendan Shortt '23, Big Change in a Little Space: On-campus Food Forest

How might we establish a yield-producing food forest as a tool to inform and empower local farmers, members of the SUNY Geneseo community, and other community partners on sustainable food growing practices?

The James Houston '80 Ambassadorship in Innovation:

Katelyn Adis ’24, Kayla Andersen ’24, Emma Parker ’24, Solar Collector for Geneseo eGarden Greenhouse

How might we design a new eGarden solar collector to produce greater thermal output which will lengthen growing seasons and increase productivity of greenhouses, ultimately improving local food security?

The Eddie Lee '76 Ambassadorship for First Generation Students:

Francheska Colón '23, Black Literature: The New Curriculum

How might we design a literature-based curriculum for public schools that represents students of color through written works and films?

The Edward Pettinella ’73 Ambassador in Business:

Natsuki Takata ’24, Turning Geneseo-area Food Waste into Sustainable Meals

How might we turn local farm food waste which is still edible into healthy meals while creating a place where people get inspired to cook sustainably?

The Frank Vafier '74 Ambassadorships in Leadership:

Alyssa Lee ’24, Chinatown Smiles: Creating Accessibility to Oral/Dental Care in NYC's Chinatown

How might we encourage and foster healthy oral hygiene behaviors in the Chinatown Asian American community, which may lack access to healthcare resources?