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SUNY Albany Students Complete First Curriculum-to-Community Track with THRIVE ON! — Course to Continue
THRIVE ON! Network Inc. (THRIVE ON!) and the University at Albany School of Social Welfare have successfully completed the first semester of their Curriculum-to-Community track of the Early Thrivers program, marking a milestone in the partnership between higher education and grassroots community development.
16 de diciembre de 2024
From Classrooms to Communities
Students in the Macro Social Work Practice II course, led by Professor Kelly Gross, spent the spring as Early Thrivers—bringing their academic training directly into Kingston neighborhoods to explore food access and community development challenges.
Unlike traditional coursework, this track redefined students as co-creators in real systems change, moving beyond theory into practice.
Connecting and Contributing
As part of their experience, students built relationships with local community leaders such as the head of Blackbird Café and People’s Place, listening to firsthand perspectives on food access and economic resilience. They also rolled up their sleeves as volunteers, joining efforts with groups like Angel Food East and others to directly support food distribution and community care.
These experiences helped students see the economy not just as data points, but as a web of lived relationships, challenges, and opportunities—insight that will inform both their professional practice and THRIVE ON!’s community work.
Staying on as Volunteers
When the semester ended, many students chose to stay on as volunteers through the summer, continuing to support THRIVE ON!’s youth-led initiatives and deepening their ties to Kingston’s communities.
“This kind of continuation shows what it means to truly invest in the community,” said Keyvious Avery, President of THRIVE ON!. “These students didn’t just finish an assignment—they built relationships and stayed on to keep building.”
A Lasting Partnership
Encouraged by the success of the pilot, SUNY Albany has committed to bringing the course back, ensuring that future cohorts of social work students will follow the same curriculum-to-community pathway. The continuation signals a sustainable model for embedding higher education into community transformation.
Building the Bridge Between Social Work and Economics
The track also underscores the unique role social work plays in understanding economic issues. By grounding their research in lived experience, students uncovered insights that traditional census data and economic studies often miss. Their work laid the foundation for a new overlap between social work and community economic development—one THRIVE ON! is eager to expand.
“This partnership has proven that universities can be real partners in local transformation,” said Professor Kelly Gross. “Our students didn’t just study the community—they became part of it.”
About THRIVE ON!
THRIVE ON! is a youth-driven nonprofit based in Kingston, NY. Beginning with its pilot Early Thrivers program, THRIVE ON! equips young people and grassroots leaders to design, build, and lead the solutions their communities need.