Jessica Bansbach graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Geneseo with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. She is currently serving with YWCA Rochester & Monroe County.
- Why RYY/a year of service?
I’m not afraid to admit that I started looking into RYY for a more self-directed reason – I knew I wasn’t ready for graduate school quite yet after essentially eighteen uninterrupted years of school, but didn’t trust myself to take a year-long break. Doing a year of service was a perfect in-between for me. I wouldn’t be sitting around doing nothing; I’d be helping people and learning about the workplace world as I did it – but it wouldn’t be a traditional educational setting, either. - What have you been working on at YWCA/What are the main goals of you service year?
I’ve been working on a lot of cultural initiatives at the YWCA so we can truly live up to our slogan of “eliminating racism, empowering women”. That start at the employee and community levels. As such, I’ve been compiling resources and data regarding racial equity, identity, discrimination, etc., as well as pushing for employees to take a self-directed interest in learning about these concepts themselves. - What are you most proud of accomplishing so far this year?
I’m really proud of the Racial Equity Toolkit, a collection of equity resources (regarding race and beyond!) that is accessible by anyone via our website. - What are you most excited about for the rest of your service year?
I’m excited to continue working with my supervisors! They’re excellent at supporting me, and I know that when the going gets tough I can rely on them.