Jason Koski and Matthew Fondeur/University Photography

Svante Myrick, who was homeless as a child, in Ithaca City Hall, where he is the only student serving as an elected city official. He also serves as a mentor to underserved youth, an anti-smoking advocate and on the Cornell Daily Sun's editorial board.

Major: Communication
College: Agriculture and Life Sciences
Hometown: Earlville, N.Y.

I was attracted by the breadth of choices at Cornell because I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do (I'm still not sure), the variety of people (Earlville has a population of 800) and Cornell's closeness to home.

Last fall I was elected to the city of Ithaca's Common Council (becoming one of the youngest elected black officials in U.S. history), representing the Fourth Ward. I am also in my fourth year as a mentor in the Raising Education Attainment Challenge (REACH -- in which tutors assist underserved youth, pre-K to ninth grade), where I'm a team leader and board member. I've served on the Cornell Daily Sun editorial board, as the vice president and philanthropy chair of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, as vice president of university and community relations for the Interfraternity Council and as program coordinator for Reality Check of Tompkins County [part of a New York organization created by teens to counter the tobacco industry's marketing to their age group].

When I first came to Cornell I was a bit overwhelmed ... and began to withdraw into myself. The turning point was when a friend dragged me to an information session for REACH. I found a purpose and a passion in trying to close the achievement gap by working directly with the kind of kids who were most underserved. That passion for service has propelled me into a number of fantastic experiences and transformed my Cornell experience.

I would not have been able to attend Cornell without a tremendous amount of support from financial aid in the form of both grants and loans.

When I was a child my family struggled with homelessness and poverty. My mother worked tirelessly to keep a roof over our heads, keep us in school and get us to college. Thanks to her, my three siblings and myself have all had a shot at a college education.

In my first year on the Common Council I am proud to have overseen the creation of the city's Youth Council. As the youngest member of the council in one of the youngest cities in America, I felt that young people have the energy and creativity needed to take on some of the most difficult challenges of our times. Before the Youth Council was created, young people had no vehicle for communication to their elected officials or to the wider community. As chair of the Collegetown Vision Implementation Committee, I'm also proud to have seen the completion of a plan that will hopefully guide development in Collegetown for years to come. Last year I was elected president of the Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society, which has been both a great honor and a fantastic opportunity.

I hope to pursue a degree in educational policy while staying in Ithaca to complete my term on the Common Council, which ends December 2011. The rest is an open question.