5 alumni complete Public Allies program

Public Allies Delaware graduates (from left): Nick Johnson, AS ‘04; Nicole Goodsell, AS ‘00; Melissa Zechiel; Kim Gorgo, AS ‘04; Matthew Bailey, AS ‘03; Jessica Snow, Matt Lauer, AS ‘04; and Nicole Cross.

2:34 p.m., June 29, 2005--Five UD alumni graduated from Public Allies Delaware, a leadership development program that prepares young adults for careers in public service, at a ceremony in Wilmington June 23.

Matt Lauer, AS ’04, from Dover, Nick Johnson, AS ’04, from Wilmington, Kim Gorgo, AS ’04, from Landisville, N.J., Matthew Bailey, AS ’03, from Newark, and Nicole Goodsell, AS ’00, from Wilmington, were among 27 students who received certificates at the end of their 10-month apprenticeships during the organization’s 10th anniversary.

Public Allies Delaware is an AmeriCorps program of UD’s Center for Community Research and Service, the University’s focal point for community engagement and action. The program serves as a resource for young adults, ages 18-30, interested in service and community building by linking agencies that serve local communities with young leaders, who receive leadership training.

Also in the class of 2005 were Melissa Zechiel, from Oak Park, Ill., and Jessica Snow, from Shamong, N.J., who will join UD in the fall semester to pursue master’s degrees in public administration, and Nicole Cross, of Havre de Grace, Md., who also will join UD in September for a master’s degree in urban affairs and public policy.

UD alumna Emily Falcon, AS ’01, CHEP/MPA ’04, policy adviser to Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, received the first-ever Public Allies Change-Maker Award in Delaware from Chris Coons, New Castle County executive.

The Public Allies Change-Maker Awards highlight and recognize the work of alumni who exemplify the core values of the program and whose leadership has significantly strengthened communities, nonprofits and/or civic participation.

Falcon is former board member in Delaware Pride and in Equality Forum. She also was in the Delaware delegation to the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Coons said the successful completion of the program was an example of the spirit that united the country after 9/11 and went against the terrorists’ expectations. “What they misunderstood is what we have always been about, what you are about: It’s about weaving together a tapestry &a mosaic that no other society has ever made. It is woven together with strands so strong they can never be broken.”

Gorgo, who worked with the Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council promoting fair financial services to underserved populations, said her experience in the program was “life-altering.”

“I was looking for something to challenge myself, so I thought this was going to be a good balance,” Goodsell said. “It was good, both personally and professionally.”

Lauer, who worked with returning adult high school students as a case manager for Jobs for Delaware, said he plans to study for a doctoral degree in psychology and eventually become a marriage counselor. “I am inclined to helping people in general, and I feel like it’s something that I connect with. When I took psychology classes, they spurred an interest in me,” he said.

Johnson, who is moving to New Jersey, shared similar interest in marriage counseling: “I’ll do community work, and then I’ll pursue a degree in family and marriage counseling. Family and marriage are really strong points of interest to me because they are fundamental units of society.”

Christina Morrow, program manager at Public Allies Delaware, said higher enrollment in the program, which grew by 50 percent this year, was a sign of its growing popularity. “It’s been great!” she said. “This year it’s grown because we are great at what we do. We’ve added staff and received national recognition.”

Article by Martin Mbugua
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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