EMHS Grads Give Back in College

Three East Meadow residents now attending SUNY Oneonta spent their first full day as college freshmen volunteering in their home away from home.

Carly Salzman, Danielle Tuthill and Julia Caparotta, all 2013 East Meadow High School graduates, were among 202 new students to participate in the college's sixth annual Freshman Service Day, according to college officials.

Students worked at 19 volunteer sites in and around the city, painting and doing yard work to helping elementary school teachers prepare classrooms for the new school year. Some students even spent the day in canoes, helping the Otsego County Conservation Association remove invasive water chestnuts from a wetland.

In addition to the 202 freshman volunteers, 30 upperclassmen and two faculty members served as team leaders during the annual event, which is organized by the college's Center for Social Responsibility and Community.

Salzman is majoring in adolescence education with a concentration in math; Tuthill is majoring in childhood education (grades 1-6); and Caparotta is majoring in childhood education (B-6).

Collectively, SUNY Oneonta students volunteer more than 50,000 hours every year through the Center for Social Responsibility and Community, in collaboration with nearly 100 different nonprofit agencies in Otsego County.