Bios

2012 Documenting Diversity Students

Maudeline Clervoix attends Flushing International High School. She was born in Haiti, where she saw her home devastated by an earthquake in 2010, leaving her family homeless. She now enjoys working with computers and participates in community service projects through Action Now at Queens College.

Yara de Paula Barbosa attends the International High School at Lafayette in Brooklyn, New York, but she was born in Brazil. She is a mentor for the Explorer’s Club and expressed her desire to be an actress in the Drama Club.

Austin J. Parenti attends Syosset High School. His life is informed by his Christian faith, which he says allows him to “have a deeper acceptance of the people around him.” He plays the saxophone and piano, and participates in the Acting and Theater Program as well as the Marching Band at Syosset High School.

Dona La Forey attends the High School of Art and Design and hails from the Bronx. She is close to her large extended family and is proud of her Caribbean heritage. She is active in extra-curricular activities, the highlight of which was her trip to Madrid, Seville, and Cordoba with her Spanish class this spring.

Juan Carlos Rivera-Morales attends Uniondale High School where he is active in a diverse range of extra-curricular activities including: wrestling, art club and honor society. He desires to promote the “green outlook on our planet” by becoming an environmental engineer.

Ke Ding attends Flushing International High School. A recent immigrant from China, Ke is enthusiastic about the extra-curricular opportunities available to him. Of particular impact was his experience traveling all over New York City taking photographs as a member of his school’s photography club.

Julia Cupolo attends Garden City High School, but began her life in Queens living in a richly diverse neighborhood comprised of Indians, Haitians and Hispanics. Julia enjoys fencing, is an accomplished pianist, and is currently a candidate for the Girl Scout Gold Award.

Sydney Johnson attends Long Island Lutheran High School where she is active in the Yearbook Club and the National Honor Society. She wants to be a filmmaker someday, and her large extended family has put her to work making her the official videographer for their many family events.

Vamadi Golo attends Hempstead High School. Vamadi was born in Manhattan, but has spent most of his childhood in Ethiopia, his parents’ country of origin. At Hempstead High School, he is a competitive swimmer, the Key Club Treasurer, and involved with social causes such as the AIDS Walk and book drives for local elementary schools.

Catherine Litvaitis attends Our Lady of Mercy Academy where she is very involved in extracurricular activities including Reverse-Shakespeare Company, Video Club, the school newspaper, and the National Honor Society. She returns to Hofstra having previously attended the Hofstra High School Summer Journalism Institute. Music, she says, is her major inspiration.