Jamie Rudd graduated from University of Rochester in May 2017 with B.A.s in Anthropology and English. This year she is serving as a Rochester Youth Year Fellow/AmeriCorps VISTA at the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. Her project focuses on supporting the Gandhi Institute’s School Climate Transformation program which utilizes restoratives practices as a means to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline.
What attracted you to Rochester Youth Year?
I knew I wanted to do a year of service after I graduated from college and Rochester Youth Year would allow me to do that service in a community I already felt connected to.
How would you describe yourself?
I identify as a morning person, workaholic, social activist, outdoors-woman, vegetarian, outgoing introvert, & Wes Anderson fanatic.
Why do you find meaning in service?
I can’t think of a better place to put my energy than working for my community. If there are things I can do to improve the lives of the people around me and make society more equitable, I want to do them.
How does RYY fit into your professional goals?
I hope to have a future in community development and RYY is great first step down that path.
What’s one fact that some people don’t know about you?
While studying abroad, I wrote an article on water buffalo raising in northeastern Thailand that was published in the Isaan Record, a news site that reports on grassroots movements in the region.
If you could be any animal, what would you be?
I would be an African Wild Dog because they form close social bonds, have gender equality in their hierarchies, vote to make decisions, live in a variety of habitats, and have independent females that leave their home packs to lead new lives with the pack of their choosing.