2010 SVS YOUTH OF THE YEAR AWARD Goes to…
2010 YOUTH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Presented to
Tasha Pringle
For her outstanding achievements and for exemplifying the values and principles of St. Vincent’s Services
St. Vincent’s Services is honored to present the 2010 Youth of the Year Award to Tasha for her extraordinary academic accomplishment and her ability to persevere and overcome adversity. Tasha is graduating this year from the University at Albany—SUNY, majoring in Latin American & Caribbean Studies with a focus on Political Science. She has an interest in the racial and ethnic makeup of the region as well as aspects of post- colonialism. About her experience at SUNY Albany, she says, “My campus is amazing! The student body is intelligent, imaginative and ambitious. Surrounding myself with those types of people helped me become comfortable in my ability to be a force on campus. It took me a while to be okay with not being on top and known and liked by people the way I was in high school. Later I was able to put myself out there and be an active member of our student community.” She is thinking of pursuing public policy or social work and focus on youth. When Tasha visited the Dominican Republic, she had a life-changing experience. Not only was it the first time she was on a plane and visited a different country, but she came face-to-face with poverty in the country and developed a clearer sense of social injustices in the region. Tasha was initially inspired by a professor who talked about the value of traveling to other regions in the world to gain a better “lens on life.” Of the contrast between poverty in the United States and the Dominican Republic, she says, “Where I stayed was in between a slum covered by layers of trees and metal fences. To the right, the homes had tin roofs, simple structures of cement walls or makeshift houses built out of a ply wood. To the left of our complex were the most beautiful houses. From the highway, the roof tops looked like you were in a southern California suburb. Then I realized that the wealthy complex was barely accessible unless you were coming into the complex off of the highway. Poverty in the Dominican Republic is a cruel type of poverty. Cruel in the sense that it is almost laughing at those who are poor. I am aware that there are some places in our country that look as though they are third world countries but what sets us apart from other places are our resources.”
In her spare time, Tasha loves to bowl and play pool. Since she has been living in the campus apartments, she has also developed a fondness for cooking. Tasha explains that she was lucky enough to enter the foster care system and stay with her aunt. She says, although there was some turmoil in her life at the time, she feels grateful that she was able to stay with family and develop a close relationship with her caseworker from SVS and feels like she could not have been in a more supportive environment. About her experience with SVS, she says, “I was welcomed with open arms and I had so many people who were ready and willing to help with guidance, love, and friendship. I definitely feel like I have an honest support system at SVS, one that is free of judgment, and that does not weigh me down with expectations I cannot live up to. I feel like I can accomplish anything because I know I’m in good hands, with people who genuinely have faith in me and my future.”
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