Junior Named to New York State Youth Advisory Council

Fordham Prep Junior Shane Daughtry of Chappaqua is not only busy with a full slate of academic and extracurricular activities in the new school year, but he also has new duties as a recently named member of New York State Majority Leader Andrea Stuart-Cousins’ Youth Advisory Council (YAC).

The honor was extended to the community-minded Daughtry in a July letter from the senator’s office that noted: “Your leadership skills, willingness to learn and extracurricular activities stood out in the application process, and we have no doubt that you are well-suited for this council.”  

As a member of the YAC, Daughtry helps to advise Stuart-Cousins on issues that affect young people and also has the “opportunity to increase civic engagement within the community and work on advocacy projects.”

Daughtry’s area of interest is promoting voting awareness among young people. He joins other YAC members in monthly virtual meetings to review projects, an activity that will continue until the end of the school year next June.  

During the height of the pandemic last April, Shane, along with two friends, raised $11,000 and delivered 2,000 meals to the frontline, night-shift workers at area hospitals. At the same time, local restaurants that had been hit hard economically by the pandemic benefitted by providing the food.

The successful campaign, entitled “Friends4Frontlines,” was one of the key factors in Shane being invited to join the YAC. 

Shane, like all Fordham Prep students, is required to perform service in each of his four years at the Prep in both group and individual projects.  He has been particularly involved at two of the school's Bronx community partner programs.  

"Fordham Prep teaches us the message of “Being a Man for Others”.  I take this message to heart by volunteering both at school and also for my community.  At Fordham Prep, I participated in the POTS day of service, helping to clean St.Ignatius school in the Bronx. I also participated with my family in the Prep’s REACH dinner where we donated and served dinner to rising sixth grade boys. These actions have inspired me to come up with my ideas of service outside the Prep.