Urban Fellows envision city's future

he experiences of 17 young Rochester Urban Fellows this summer show the potential for changing lives by one committed person at a time.

Colette Carmouche '08, an anthropology major from Stafford, Tex., inventoried vacant lots in the Marketview Heights neighborhood so her sponsoring organization, Rural Opportunities Inc., can develop plans for housing reinvestment. Her two and a half months of effort have a verifiable result, but it may take years to build new homes and apartments.

"I've come to believe there are no great fundamental differences between those we seek to help and ourselves," she wrote in a reflection on her internship. "Despite our divisions in class, we too experience human emotions and hardships, which keep us connected. What separates us is access to resources and the ability to have choices."

Colette Carmouche '08 enjoys lunch at Unkl Moe's with other Urban Fellows.

Carmouche and the other Urban Fellows, nine from the University, were selected to work for nonprofit and government agencies on projects that would educate them about the city and connect them with new people and places. Now in its fifth year, the Urban Fellows program mixes college students who grew up in Rochester with those new to the area.

The idea was inaugurated at the University and is now directed by Leadership Rochester, a local leadership development program with funding from state Sen. Joseph Robach, the City of Rochester, and the Enterprise Foundation. The University partners with Leadership Rochester through support from the Rochester Area Community Foundation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Students earn stipends for their work and engage in discussions and other learning experiences to connect their assignments with broader and deeper urban issues and policies. The program also emphasizes civic engagement with multiple ways to celebrate and appreciate cross-cultural issues and urban life.

During the eighth week of the 10-week program, the group examined the issue of revitalization, touring several spots in the local community. They learned more about 19th Ward projects, such as Urban Brew, a community-run coffee shop concept, and the Brooks Landing development project, during a tour with Rochester City Council member Dana Miller and joined him for lunch at Unkl Moe's, a West Avenue restaurant famous for its barbecue and southern-style fare. At other stops around town the students got an close-up look at an organic vineyard and garden known as GRUB (Greater Rochester Urban Bounty) in northeast Rochester and strolled down ArtWalk on University Avenue. The weekly trips were designed to offer students a broad view of efforts under way to address specific issues and to help build lasting relationships between students and local outreach organizations.

A graduation symposium held at City Hall on August 2 capped the program and offered participants a chance to share their personal experience with the Rochester community. Both Mayor Robert Duffy and Miller spoke at the ceremony. During her presentation, Carmouche reflected on a previous trip she'd taken to Peru and about meeting people living in difficult situations there. "I learned about my heart and how to connect with people of a different culture and language. This summer, I learned to use my head. To take the openness I found in my heart and combine this with practical skills to consummate change."