ALUMNI NEWS
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Teaching Youth How to Advocate for Themselves
rowing up in Harlem as a threesport athlete, Ervin admits that while she had good grades, her focus was on athletics, playing volleyball, basketball and tennis. When it came to college, Ervin had only been considering division one and division two schools until Cazenovia College’s Head Women’s Basketball and Softball Coach, Chris Comino, came to one of her games to scout. Comino’s visit changed her direction, and she agreed to attend Cazenovia College after only one conversation with Comino about the College’s focus on the complete student athlete.
The essential skill that Lilliemae Ervin ’16 teaches her students at the Harlem Children’s Zone is how to “self-advocate” as they prepare for college. Throughout her four years at Cazenovia, Ervin exercised her advocacy muscles both inside and outside the classroom.
During her first year on campus, Ervin played volleyball, basketball, and ran cross country. She also became very involved in Project REACH, an organization that shaped her Cazenovia experience as well as her life. She eventually became a Project REACH team member and then peer mentor. At the end of her freshman year, Ervin’s experience took a drastic turn. Her grandmother, who had been supporting her, became ill and was no longer able to subsidize the cost of Ervin’s tuition. Stranded in Cazenovia because she could not afford to pay her tuition or return home, Ervin turned to a Project REACH staff member.
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Cazenovia College Magazine: Winter 2020
Photo: John Seiter
The Project REACH team helped her secure a job in the dining hall that she held for the next three years. Ervin then met with the business office, flexing her advocacy muscles by negotiating a feasible payment plan for the rest of the semester. The next step was to secure scholarships that would help her pay tuition moving forward. Once again, the Project REACH team assisted her by finding scholarships that she could apply for. Working with the Office of Financial Aid, Ervin worked to understand her aid package and her financial burden for the next three years.
