See our impact for yourself.
Martin Graine
Corcoran High School 2023
Martin has been a member of Syracuse University’s Liberty Partnerships Program for six years. He joined LPP when he was at Clary Middle School and enjoyed being an active part of LPP during those early secondary years. Martin also felt supported by LPP advocates when he started high school. Throughout his years with LPP, Martin participated in many of the program’s extracurricular activities. He partook in the summer programs and all the virtual activities available during Covid. During Covid’s remote learning he felt strengthened by the help and support of his LPP teachers and advocates who checked up on him all the time to make sure he was doing well enough, and to extend the opportunities to assist with his schoolwork at any time he needed.
In 2021, Martin exhibited leadership when he took the initiative to participate in Youth Advocacy Day – where he testified to the benefits of LPP to state and local legislators in Albany; Moreover, at the 2022 NYS Liberty Partnerships Empire Youth Summit he delivered his testimonial (statewide) about his years in LPP and how he appreciates the LPP program. He mentioned how LPP helped him academically and emotionally during the challenging times of remote learning, and how grateful he is to the LPP advocates for being readily available for him and trying to cheer him up with encouragement.
Martin’s family has also been supportive of him, and he is happy to be a role model and a mentor for his younger siblings. He has been talking to and mentoring the younger students in LPP about college applications and how to write their college essays for Ivy League schools as well.
Martin is a proud SU LPP scholarship recipient due to his hard work, scholastic achievements, and senior graduation ranking. Martin is planning to attend the prestigious Brown University this Fall 2023 to study computer engineering; he is also planning to further his education in aerospace engineering.
Mustafa Al Janabee
Corcoran High School 2023
Mustafa was born in Iraq, and he came to the United States when he was eight years old. His family is happy to live in the United States to be able to provide educational opportunities for their children.
Mustafa joined Syracuse University Liberty Partnerships Program last year. He frequently stopped by the LPP classroom to ask for help or to give an update about his academic progress. He also sought assistance from LPP Advocates several times during his senior year for their expert guidance through his college application and admissions process.
Mustafa also participated in LPP’s extracurricular activities, including a leadership development webinar series (delivered by LPP partners, Focus, Inc.). He watched all of the pre-recorded informational videos, and then successfully completed each of the related ‘knowledge checks’. Mustafa stated that he learned a lot from the videos, and he hopes to use the lessons he learned from them in his everyday life, and even more so, transfer his enhanced skills to his upcoming college life.
Mustafa is grateful for LPP as LPP helped him to stay focused on his grades and personal goals which resulted in him bringing his grades up. After being accepted to college, LPP Advocates supported his communication with the college admission officers, where he was able to register for his choice classes for the start of his fall semester.
Mustafa has been awarded a SU LPP scholarship due to his hard work, scholastic achievements and graduation ranking. Mustafa is planning to attend Onondaga Community College this August to study Business Administration.
Malichi Simmons
PSLA at Fowler 2023
Malichi became a Syracuse University Liberty Partnerships student when he was at Clary Middle School, and he has grown into a fine young man with a powerful sense of family. He loves people and has a smile that allows people to know that he is friendly.
Malichi knows how to push forward when things are unattainable. He enjoys the challenge of discussing critical issues about people and the world around us.
Malichi is a wonderful communicator with an enthusiastic sense of humor. He is extremely creative, participating in and providing leadership in multiple musical and drama performances at both Clary and PSLA at Fowler High School. He loves the theatre and recalls his overnight field-study excursion to NYC in middle school – which included participation in a Broadway class and viewing of the Broadway musical “Wicked”!
He is grateful to the LPP Team for its support and advocacy through senior graduation. He says, “LPP makes a difference.” Malichi will be attending Onondaga Community College in the fall to pursue his A.S. in Music.
Virginia Russell
PSLA at Fowler 2023
Virginia is a young woman with a purpose and a plan. She has been a Syracuse University Liberty Partnerships student since attending Clary Middle School. Virginia is grateful for the SU LPP Advocates who have valued her as a person who cares about others. She participated in several extracurricular activities, including a college tour and an overnight field-study trip to the Adirondack Mountains.
Virginia’s nickname in the LPP Room is Ms. Perseverance. She does her best at whatever she attempts, and she wants to make a difference in this ever-changing world. Virginia believes in herself, and she acknowledges and respects the differences in others. Virginia has an outlook on life that says “I am somebody. Watch me succeed!”
She is also grateful for her Mom who believed in her ability to successfully graduate from PSLA at Fowler this year, along with her acceptance into Onondaga Community College’s nursing program this Fall.
Aya Alradi
PSLA High School 2022
Aya was introduced to LPP through her sister Shatha Alradi, a former LPP student. She joined LPP last year during the tough times of Covid when the schools were remote and hybrid.
She was happy to join LPP because she heard many good things about the program. She participated in summer programs as well as LPP’s extracurricular programs. She was an active participant in the 2022 NYS Summit, and she prepared a testimonial to speak at the Summit about how LPP helped her to overcome the difficulties of remote learning during Covid. Aya said, “LPP helped me in a lot of ways, academically as well as emotionally. LPP Teachers have helped me to pass my Anatomy and Physiology course this year, with which I was struggling. I am grateful to all the teachers who helped me feel confident in passing my classes and getting good grades.”
Aya comes from a refugee family from Syria. She and her family moved to the US six years ago. She comes from a family that values education and her parents are supportive of all her siblings and her to receive a good education as well as to utilize all the resources available to them.
Aya is planning to go to Onondaga Community College and study Pre Law.
Dominque Freelon
PSLA Salutatorian 2022
“I want to help people be able to communicate with others who speak different languages. A lot of non-English speakers have important things to say, but people have stereotypes and are not willing to listen. I want to serve as a bridge between them. Through my Spanish classes, I have made a lot of friends who speak other languages. They all have different views and different experiences, and I learned a lot from them.” – Dominque Freelon
Dominque has participated in a wide variety of clubs and programs over her high school years. She completed the Computer Information Science CTE program and took college classes for HTML coding where she learned how to create databases.
One of the important things Dominque has learned over the course of her time in the SCSD is to ask for help, such as through LPP. “It’s hard for me to ask people for help because I’m shy but, it’s important!” – Dominque Freelon. She will be attending Le Moyne College to study Biology and may want to learn to be a veterinarian. Being accepted into the colleges she applied to was one of the proudest moments for her. It was one of the first times she felt like her family was proud of her. She looks forward to the many experiences ahead of her at college.
Imara Davis
Corcoran High School 2022
Imara Davis entered the Liberty Partnership Program in the beginning of 2019 during her tenth-grade year. She was just beginning her IB tenure when she had to transition to virtual learning as it was the start of the Covid Pandemic. She worked hard and used the extra resources available to her to complete her studies.
Imara earned a spot with the Syracuse University Summer Research Program in the Physics lab. It was a paid program. She will go back to Syracuse University this fall and start her college career with a major in Biology. “The constant check-ins from LPP have helped keep me on track. It was always nice to know that the tutors were there, and I could reach out to them and get the guidance that I needed. Even when it was just a mental health check in and to see that I am not too overwhelmed with my schoolwork which did happen a lot during senior year.”
Anthony Southammavong
PSLA High School 2022
Anthony ranked 19th out of 321 in his graduating class. He participated in Football, Indoor Track, and Outdoor Track during all four years of high school. He received Honorable Mention in Football and was named Captain of the Football Team in 11th and 12th grades. He also participated in the All-Star Football Game. Anthony received the My Brother’s Keeper Fellowship Award, participated in the Drama Club, Building Men, and competed in Weightlifting. He organized a men’s mental health event for the community and was an intern with the Syracuse Police Department last summer. Anthony will be attending OCC to study Health and Exercise Science.