Apply to the Program
Applications due January 31st, 2024
For questions please contact altbreak@american.edu
You are here: American University Student Affairs Community Engagement & Service New York City 2023
Contact Us
Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Mary Graydon Center, Room 273 on a map
Center for Community Engagement and Service 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016 United StatesIntersections of Gentrification, Education Disparities, & Youth Incarceration
This Alternative Break program seeks to highlight the complex relationship between educational disparities, gentrification, and youth incarceration with an emphasis on how it has impacted BIPOC communities in New York City. According to the Urban Displacement Project map, one in five neighborhoods in the 31-county New York metropolitan area is experiencing gentrification or displacement, affecting mostly low-income and BIPOC communities. Even further, studies currently show that when neighborhoods gentrify, local district schools lose students, frequently low-income and Hispanic students. Additionally, displacement intensifies the social re-entry of former inmates and disrupts links with communities. These issues have continued to be relevant due to the disparities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, by working with community organizations and partners, AU students will recognize how communities are currently using the power of grassroots action to help address and tackle these systemic issues. Ultimately, Students will leave this program with an understanding of how the severity of gentrification impacts educational outcomes, which in turn influences the Juvenile Justice System—with the hopes that students continue to engage in this work when they return to Washington D.C.
Dates of Engagement: May 9th to 15th
Paula Akakpo (she/her) is from Minnesota and is currently a Sophomore pursuing a degree in International Studies with a minor in Sociology. On campus, she is a Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholar, Olson Scholar Program member, and Secretary of Students for a Just Society. Paula has always been interested in International issues—because of her Togolese Immigrant Parents—and she has advocated for Juvenile Justice because of the impact on communities like hers. She has also had experiences as a Petey Greene Program Volunteer, where she tutored young students at a Juvenile Detention Center, and as a Detention Project Law Clerk at the Immigration Law Center of Minnesota, where she conducted client intakes and answered calls from detained immigrants and their family and friends. Both of these experiences renewed her interest in working on Human rights issues, therefore, she is excited to pursue those interests on the Alternative Breaks Council and on her trip.
Jace Rivera is interested in the intersections of international affairs and business and plans on attending law school.On campus, he has written for the Black print Magazine, discussing issues such as disaster relief for Puerto Rico, gun control policy and other important policy matters. Leading to his current role on the Alternative Break Leadership Council, Jace participated in a nine-day program in Puerto Rico focused on sustainability and climate change, political and legal advocacy given Puerto Rico's commonwealth status, and tourism driven gentrification. Jace decided to join the Alternative Break Leadership Council to bring greater awareness and attention to the issues of urban gentrification and educational disparities around the US into sharp focus.