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nr_mlk120Two New Roots Charter School students were honored during Ithaca College’s week-long celebration of Martin Luther King's life and legacy.  On Wednesday, January 25th, Jacob Gelber, a New Roots Charter School senior who resides in Ithaca and Newfield, and Irene Case, a freshman from Ithaca, won the first annual Ithaca College MLK Writing Contest held for New Roots students with their poignant essays on the themes of personal change and sacrifice for progress.

Cheered on by New Roots English Teacher Sue Schwartz, New Roots Board Member Roger Richardson, friends, family, and over 100 audience members, Jacob and Irene were recognized during the keynote address by Mayor Svante Myrick in the Hoerner Theater on the IC campus.

nr_mlk_400Left to right: Don Austin, Assistant Director Community Service and Leadership Development, Ithaca College; John Rawlins, Assistant Director, OSEMA-Multicultural Affairs, Ithaca College; Irene Case, 9th Grade New Roots Charter School Student, New Roots Charter School; Jacob Gelber, 12th grade New Roots Charter School Student, Svante Myrick, Mayor of Ithaca.

"For the first annual MLK Writing Contest hosted by Ithaca College, students at New Roots Charter School produced some of the most passionate social justice writing I have seen in years," said Ithaca College Assistant Director Community Service and Leadership Development Don Austin. "Their essays were creative and full of ideas for how we can redefine 'greatness', and how we will forge a better world for future generations. It was our absolute honor to recognize the contest winners, Irene Elizabeth Case and Jacob Gelber, for producing such excellent essays on social justice."

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