The University of Delaware's multicultural course requirements were a major selling point with Thérèse McKinny-Wood, AS 2004, when she was choosing a school. She turned down Cornell, St. Lawrence and Drew, reasoning, "I come from a little town. I wanted a big campus, and I feel like the University of Delaware is made up of a cross-section of the nation, especially economically. If I'm going to be involved in politics, that's the kind of place I should be."

It's not surprising that diversity was an important criterion for McKinny-Wood. For the past 25 years, her parents, Patty McKinny and Jim Wood, have been community activists, teachers and counselors dedicated to improving race relations and helping at-risk youth.

Parents of four, the McKinny-Woods live in Sodus, N.Y., near Lake Ontario. They met in 1977 while working in an outdoor education program for the children of seasonal farm laborers who came to the area to pick fruit in the summer and fall. "I was originally drawn to rural Wayne County to teach because of the racial diversity of the student body, due primarily to the settling of migrant workers," Jim says.

While teaching in the Sodus Primary School, he continued to set up programs for farm workers and their families in the community, including a summer tutorial outreach program, a family literacy project, and an outdoor-education program for families. "It became increasingly clear to me that programs for people needed to be supplemented by programs with people to counter racism," says Jim, "so I turned my energy toward community activism in the area of race relations."

However, because he is modest and feels awkward talking about his accomplishments, Patty fills in the details. "Jim was a founding member of Wayne Action for Racial Equality, a grassroots organization that addresses race issues in the community," she says. "He also co-founded the Wayne County Multi-Cultural Arts Project, which supports local youth in learning traditional performing arts and sponsors a series of professional performances by Mexican-American, African-American and Caribbean-American artists. While doing all this, he still managed to obtain an doctorate in curriculum and teaching from the University of Rochester." Jim is currently the director of curriculum and instruction at Sodus Central School, where he has worked since 1971 and where all four of his children have attended school. ?

Patty hasn't exactly been idle herself. During the past 12 years, she has played a central role in creating and sustaining Sodus Youth Venture, an after-school service program targeted to at-risk youth in the community. She is now director of an outpatient treatment program for people diagnosed with severe mental illness.

Despite the serious nature of their careers and volunteer activities, the McKinny-Woods know how to have fun. "We've always loved the outdoors," Jim says. "When we met, Patty was living in a tent on Lake Ontario for the summer. We've canoed and camped in wilderness areas throughout southern Canada and the Adirondack Mountains. Thérèse took her first canoe/camping trip when she was just 3 years old." Several years ago, the family discovered the joys of kayaking, and they now try to get on the water whenever possible.

Summer in upstate New York doesn't last long, so they've had to look for cold-weather activities to fill in the rest of the year, including downhill and cross-country skiing. "We live in the country in an apple orchard," Patty says, "and through much of the winter, we can ski right out our door."

Jim and the couple's 15-year-old son, Ian, have shared a family tradition for the past 10 years: the "swim-and-ski challenge." Patty explains: "Every October and April, when the air and water temperature meet at about 45 degrees, they find a day to swim in Lake Ontario and cross-country ski in the orchard. It doesn't have to be on the same day, but both activities have to take place in each month. It's generally a very quick swim!"

Jim also is an avid bird watcher, although he can't seem to get anyone else in the family interested. "That's his solitary time to poke around, keep his lists and connect with other birders," Patty says. This hobby also meshes well with Jim's interest in conservation issues and ecology. And, the University of Delaware has helped the couple discover a whole new area to explore, from the Augustine and Prime Hook wildlife refuges to the Cape Henlopen and Delaware Seashore state parks and Assateague Island in Maryland.

"We liked the location of Newark from the start," Jim says. "It was within Thérèse's self-imposed 'one-day travel radius' from home. We were pushing her to look at a few state schools in addition to the private colleges she was considering, mainly because of the cost savings. Thérèse reluctantly spent a night on campus with a UD student ambassador, Sarah McClosky. The next day she was sold!

"We have often commented on the similarities between Delaware and upstate New York," Jim says. "They both have extensive agricultural communities that rely heavily on seasonal farm workers to assist in the harvest of crops. The current labor pool appears to be predominantly from Latin-American countries. We all owe the bounty of our tables to the hard work of tens of thousands of forgotten agricultural farm workers and the committed investment of thousands of farmers." Jim Wood's and Patty McKinny's lives represent a similar commitment to these farmers.