High school students throughout Monroe County will come together for an in-person ROC2Change Student Summit on Monday, November 22, 2021, at St. John Fisher College (SJFC) located at 3690 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618. All COVID-19 protocols are in place, including universal indoor masking while indoors at SJFC.
This Fall 2021 ROC2Change Student Summit is organized and led by student planning committees with students from Fairport CSD (Minerva DeLand and Fairport High Schools) and School Without Walls and will be the first in-person summit students across Monroe County will participate in since before COVID. Sessions at this Summit will focus on three topics: News & Journalism, Social Media Activism, and Debunking & Stereotypes in Media.
Four HF-L high school students are attending this event. Those students are Bridget Lang, Anna (Seven) Masek, Emily (Parker) Kester, and Erinn Atkinson.
Keynote Speaker Ms. Jayda Woodall is an undergraduate student at SUNY Oneonta who currently strives to enlighten others through her spoken word poems about social injustice. She is from the Poughkeepsie area but attended schools with a severe lack of diversity. Her schools shaped her experience in this world. Jayda is studying education and hopes to be an elementary teacher soon. Whether it is in an elementary classroom or on social media she uses her words, talents, and knowledge to educate people. She creates every line with a purpose and can't wait for even more ears and heart to take in her words.
“We look forward to bringing students together in-person for the ROC2Change Student Summit, alongside our partners from School Without Walls and SJFC,” said Fairport CSD Superintendent Brett Provenzano. “Our students have dedicated so much of their time to organize this important unifying event that will benefit the greater Monroe County community. Our students are the future and have the opportunity to unite and problem solve pertinent issues that will impact their futures.”
ROC2Change was established in 2016 as students from across Monroe County began to come together to address race relations in the community. Hundreds of students from more than 30 schools have participated in the full-day summit in years past. These summits encourage dialogue about race through speakers, student-led activities, and sessions. Each summit also includes time for students to collaborate on how to bring the ROC2Change progress and plans back to their respective schools and communities.
For more information about ROC2Change, visit www.roc2change.com.