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SUNY Albany Students Join Early Thrivers Through “Curriculum-to-Community” Track
THRIVE ON! Network Inc. (THRIVE ON!) has launched a pioneering partnership with the University at Albany School of Social Welfare, bringing students into THRIVE ON!’s Early Thrivers program through a new “Curriculum-to-Community” track.
August 4, 2024
Expanding What It Means to Be an Early Thriver
Early Thrivers is THRIVE ON!’s pilot initiative that equips young people to lead systems change. For local youth, the program begins with hands-on work in Kingston around food system transformation. For SUNY Albany students in the Macro Social Work Practice II course, it meant transforming their classroom learning into direct community practice.
In both cases, the young people are Early Thrivers—united by the mission of applying skills to real community challenges, whether they arrive through local recruitment or higher education.
“This track shows that being an Early Thriver isn’t about where you come from—it’s about how you engage,” said Keyvious Avery, President of THRIVE ON!. “Our Kingston youth and SUNY Albany students are both building the future together, just through different pathways.”
A Unique Lens on Community Economics
Social work students bring a unique ability to understand economic issues differently than census bureaus or traditional research methods. By engaging directly with residents, they uncover the lived realities of the economy—gaps in food access, hidden costs, and barriers that raw data often misses.
This pilot represents a first step in merging social work and economic development, showing how academic training can be reimagined as community transformation.
Building Toward the Future
The Curriculum-to-Community track strengthens Early Thrivers by linking grassroots experience with higher education. For THRIVE ON!, it demonstrates how universities can contribute to youth-led, community-based change, not as outside researchers, but as participants in building solutions.
“This partnership has allowed our students to move beyond theory,” said Professor Kelly Gross (pictured). “By becoming Early Thrivers themselves, they’ve experienced what it means to practice macro social work in ways that are responsive, relational, and rooted in real communities.”
The pilot lays the groundwork for a long-term collaboration, with plans for the course to return in future semesters and continue building the bridge between curriculum and community.
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.