Barnard Graduate Celeste Guzman ’97, Co-Founds Literacy Program for Troubled Youth

New York, NY, July 30, 2002—Celeste Guzman, Barnard ’97, is recognized in the July 24, 2002, edition of The New York Times for co-founding a storybook program at a San Antonio juvenile prison in Texas. Along with police officer Glenn Faulk and poet Grady Hillman, Guzman created a program that found opportunities for youth serving time to give workshops in creative writing at various types of community venues.

Youthful offenders at the Cyndie Taylor Krier Juvenile Prison are expected to perform community service, and instead of mowing lawns or picking up highway trash, this program has allowed them to write children’s books that could be donated to libraries in battered-women’s shelters. Guzman has had the storybooks printed and the youth were able to read their stories aloud to an audience that included their parents at a prison meeting. When they have received enough behavior points, the juvenile offenders will be allowed to read their stories aloud to children at outside locations. So far, youth involved in the writing program have shown behavior improvement.

Follow this link to read the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/education/24LESS.html

Contact: Petra Tuomi, Public Affairs, 212-854-7907
Derin Adesida, Office of Public Affairs, 212-854-2037