Yolanda Allison received a 2018 Student Service Award at the college’s Student Wellness Retreat, April 5-7, in Albany, N.Y.

A single mother of a teenager, Allison lives on the upper west side of Manhattan and began her college career in 2006. After determination and perseverance helped her through some personal challenges, Allison is earning a Bachelor of Professional Services in Interdisciplinary Studies with a double concentration in legal studies and public advocacy. Recently, she passed her LSAT and hopes to become a pro-bono attorney, serving the underprivileged.

Allison has worked in many public service capacities, including for the City of New York Parks Department as a New York City Parks Enforcement Officer. She later worked for the New York City Police Department, where she has been a 911 operator and radio dispatcher for emergency services.

Allison has been involved in the service organizations Eureka Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, Prince Hall Affiliation, which focuses on charitable and benevolent works in Northern Manhattan (Harlem). She’s been involved in countless community projects in the Northern Manhattan community, such as providing Christmas gifts for children and hot meals for Thanksgiving. She volunteers on Friday mornings at the Goddard Riverside Senior Citizen Community Center, where she teaches the elderly computer literacy.

In the capacity of guardian ad litem for the Access to Justice program, she has been appointed by several New York City Housing Court judges to protect and preserve the most vulnerable citizens (disabled, senior citizens and low-income families). She volunteered for a women’s anti-domestic violence organization, Voices of Women, or VOW.

Her professor, Justin Giordano, said, “Ms. Allison has shown an eagerness and willingness to go the extra mile to assist in many of the student events that I have helped organize through student clubs.”  

Recipients of the Service Award must be a matriculated student at the college and have a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA. They also must list up to three organizations in which they have significant service and involvement.