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Samantha Doucette
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sdoucette@cityyear.org
18 Spelman graduates to join 2,800 AmeriCorps members serving in low-performing schools nationwide
ATLANTA (June 3, 2013) -- Spelman College students have a strong desire to give back. This year Spelman has the distinct honor of ranking among the top 10 feeder schools for City Year’s 2013-2014 corps. This coming school year, 18 Spelman graduates will join City Year, a national organization that unites young people for a year of service in 247 high-need schools across the country.
“Spelman College alumnae who will serve with City Year next year share a strong desire to help our nation’s students meet their potential and stay in school and on track to graduation” said Michael Brown, CEO and Co-Founder of City Year. “City Year AmeriCorps members are a dedicated, talented group of inspirational young adults who will make a real difference in the schools where they serve, gaining valuable leadership skills during their service year. We are pleased to welcome Spelman graduates to the City Year family.”
In communities across the United States and through two international affiliates in London and Johannesburg, diverse teams of young City Year AmeriCorps leaders help turn around high-need schools and help students succeed by working to improve their attendance, behavior and course performance in reading and math. Corps members are the first faces students see in the morning, they work side-by-side with teachers throughout the day, and are there until the last student leaves at night.
Demonstrating the growing desire among college graduates to give a year of service, City Year has been named to this year’s Universum Top 100 Ideal Employer List. City Year joins the ranks of companies like Google and McKinsey & Company as one of the most desirable employers to the nearly 66,000 Liberal Arts undergraduates surveyed. City Year is one of 22 nonprofits and government agencies on the Ideal Employer list, alongside Peace Corps, Teach for America and the United Nations.
“Students find City Year to be a wonderful way to engage in meaningful work immediately after graduation while continuing to explore their career options,” said Melanie Brennand Mueller, City Year’s Vice President of Recruitment, Alumni and Admissions. “And with the education award AmeriCorps alumni receive after completing their service year, and City Year’s strong alumni network, a year of service with City Year is a fantastic way for young people to expand their opportunities.”
City Year recruits its corps members from a highly competitive national applicant pool, with nearly 10,000 applications for the 2,500 available positions. Among incoming City Year corps members, 61 percent identified as a person of color or multi-ethnic, including 24 percent who identified as African American and 14 percent who identified as Latino. Eighty four percent are college graduates. All City Year corps members can request their qualified student loans be put into forbearance during their term of service and upon completion corps members also receive an education award of $5,550 through AmeriCorps.
The following are the top ten universities to produce highest number of City Year corps members:
| COLLEGE NAME: | CORPS MEMBERS:
|
| 1. University of California-Riverside | 35 |
| 2. University of Florida | 25 |
| 3. Cornell University | 24 |
| 4. University of California- Los Angeles | 23 |
| 5. University of Wisconsin-Madison | 22 |
| 6. University of Michigan- Ann Arbor | 21 |
| 7. University of California- Santa Cruz | 20 |
| 8. Florida A&M University | 19 |
| 9. Spelman College | 18 |
| 9. State University of New York – New Paltz | 18 |
| 10. University Of Colorado-Boulder | 16 |
*City Year’s final confirmation deadline is June 15, after which numbers are subject to slight change
Nearly one million students drop out of school each year, and half of those dropouts come from just over ten percent of schools. City Year believes national service is an effective tool in education reform, using the talent and idealism of young people to support our country’s highest need schools. Learn more at www.cityyear.org.
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About Spelman College
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a highly selective, liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, Ga., the college’s picturesque campus is home to 2,100 students. Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman; Sam’s Club CEO Rosalind Brewer; JPMorgan Chase Foundation President Kimberly Davis; former acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna President Audrey Forbes Manley; Harvard College Dean Evelyn Hammonds; author Pearl Cleage; and actress LaTanya Richardson Jackson. For more information, visit www.spelman.edu.