Graduating senior Carley Robinson has received a Robinson-Appel Humanitarian Award from the Cornell Public Service Center.
Cornell alumni Gerald Robinson '54, Margot Robinson '55, Robert Appel '53, and Helen Appel '55 established the Robinson-Appel award to recognize and honor students who have had significant involvement in community service by providing support for their projects, which address a community's social needs or problems. Three projects are selected, and each receives $2,500 to further a community service project initiated and proposed by Cornell students. The focus of the project's efforts may be the Cornell campus, the Ithaca community, or a location outside of Tompkins County (but within the United States and its territories).
Carley is studying Human Development, Education, and Theatre. She's worked with local community-based theatre group Civic Ensemble for two years and will continue working with their ReEntry Theatre Program after graduation. An upcoming workshop of Delia Divided, a devised work surrounding mental health and reentry, is planned for May.
The Robinson-Appel Award will help Civic Ensemble and Carley further the reach of the ReEntry community within Tompkins County. These stories are representative of over 100 different people within Tompkins County who have been court-involved. Continuing to tell these stories helps destigmatize mental illness and incarceration.
At PMA, Carley has been involved with Virtual Vibrance, 10-Minute Play Festival, The Next Storm, The Awakening of Spring, and more. This is her final semester at Cornell; however, this award will allow her to continue working with Civic Ensemble post-graduation. She is excited to forge her path as a storyteller, and build those skills in all communities she is a part of. Centering the voices of marginalized communities and empowering them to take space is the work she'll be continuing for as long as she can.
