Ravita Choudhury
Hello! My name is Ravita Choudhury and I am an anthropology student at the University of Rochester. I am the daughter of two Bangladeshi-American immigrants who raised me in Queens, NY. I am deeply interested in the ways race functions within our society and how it helps us to destabilize racist and classist institutions like mass incarceration, criminalization, and the school-to-prison pipeline. If I could describe myself in a few words it would be hopeful, encouraging, abolitionist, dreamer, and student. I hope to one day be able to give back to NYC as much as it has given me.
Cheyanne Deopersaud
My name is Cheyanne Deopersaud, I am 19 years old and I am a freshman at John Jay pursuing a major in Human services and Community Justice. I decided on this major because I am passionate about advocating for myself and other foster youth. At the moment I advocate for Fair Futures, FYSA, for CASA’s Youth Leadership Council and I also work with Teens Take Charge; these are various organizations that strive to make a change and impact on youths’ lives whether they be foster youth or youth in general.
Ishrat Jahan
Ishrat Jahan is a first-year, first-gen student at NYU studying political science. Growing up in Brooklyn, NY she developed a passion for civic engagement and community involvement, continuing to exercise it in professional and personal settings. She looks to expand her skills in the fields of law and government, hoping to translate it into a legal career in the nonprofit sector. Outside of these interests, she enjoys exploring the city, playing badminton, and taste-testing cuisine from all over the world.
Stefany Quiroz
Stefany Quiroz is a Stuyvesant High School graduate and now attends the Macaulay Honors College at John Jay College of Criminal Justice as the class of 2024. She discovered her passion for combatting educational inequality when applying to high school when she noticed the lack of resources and knowledge in marginalized communities. As one of the few Latinx students in the school at Stuyvesant, she became committed to tackling this issue and playing a small part in equalizing a broken education system. She is the Director of Communications at RISE, an organization founded by Stuyvesant students that aims to create a more diverse educational community in order to allow students from all backgrounds equal access to the resources and opportunities that NYC’s prestigious schools have to offer. Outside of RISE, she was a tutor and board member for Sparks Within Reach, a tutoring organization that serves students in homeless centers, the Senior Assistant of Media Outreach & Branding at Project Reach Youth, a teen health and youth empowerment organization, and is a member of the Honors Scholars Council, the Committee on Diversity Inclusion and Equity, and the Latinx Honors Committee at her college. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, discovering new food spots, and fashion.
Bless Reece
My name is Bless Reece. I am a junior at Williams College with a double major in Psychology and American Studies. As the chair of student organization Converging Worlds, I am a passionate prison abolitionist and have been striving to educate those in my community on the extensive harm the carceral system inflicts on primarily low-income people of color. I have conducted research on disenfranchisement, mental health, reentry, and reparations and look forward to utilizing these findings in local communities.