CITIZEN U puts youth on track for college

October 11, 2013

Shaniyah Way in her yearbook photo for CITIZEN U.

A recent Cornell Chronicle article features success stories from 4-H's CITIZEN U program. One of the students highlighted is Shaniyah Way, who will is headed to Broome County Community College this fall. Way credits CITIZEN U with giving her the push she needed to decide to go on to college after graduating high school.

After two years of study and service, Way was one of 24 teens in Broome and Monroe counties to graduate in August as the first class from CITIZEN U, a 4-H program run by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) and the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research in the College of Human Ecology to help at-risk youth become active in their communities and prepare for college careers.

Way credits CITIZEN U with giving her “extra motivation” to continue her studies after earning her high school diploma last spring. She and seven other CITIZEN U graduates are attending college this fall, while the rest are continuing as program leaders until they graduate high school.

CITIZEN U is both short for "CITIZEN University" and referencing "CITIZEN YOU."  The program promotes community engagement, high school graduation, and enrollment in higher education. CITIZEN U is supported by Smith Lever funds, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Program puts at-risk youth on a path to college - Cornell Chronicle