This past year, Stephanie Duran has been amplifying voices and implementing the true values of inclusion and acceptance, with other Park Scholars, within the city of Ithaca and Ithaca College. She has worked with The Village at Ithaca as a behind the scenes camera operator, to help produce a documentary centered around the fact that joy is being taken from students of color that attend Ithaca’s education system. The documentary was extremely powerful and put those children into the spotlight to tell their truth and how to improve the lives they currently live. Stephanie took what she learned from The Village and used that as a guide to lead the various clubs she is a part of at IC, including: Pulse Hip Hop (co-president), PODER (community chair liaison), and AAF (vice president). Her extensive work for Pulse in providing a safe space for BIPOC students on campus at their annual dance showcase, exceeded expectation with over 300 attendees. Her work with PODER, in helping create events for the Hispanic community on campus allowed for more interactions between other thriving organizations. All this work allowed her to earn the Peggy Ryan Williams Award for Academic and Community Leadership, given to students for outstanding performance in academic, leadership and community service endeavors at IC. As Stephanie enters her senior year studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain she hopes to make more impact worldwide. With the help of her live events and marketing internship at City Girls Barcelona the goal is to make many connections that will provide for more means of empowerment.
Stephanie Duran
