Students Paid for Empire Service Corps Public Service Engagement

SUNY Plattsburgh students who are looking for opportunities to perform a public service and get paid at the same time can apply to the Empire Service Corps program.

Now in its second year, Empire Service Corps gives select SUNY students the chance to engage in paid public service work for 300 hours over the course of an academic year. Students are placed at a site that aligns with their interest areas either on campus or at a community-based location.

Students are matched with a host site based on their areas of interest as it aligns with one of six cohorts:

• Civic engagement
• Economic opportunity
• Education
• Environmental stewardship
• Healthy futures
• Veterans and military families’ outreach

Allison Swick-Duttine, director of student leadership, is SUNY Plattsburgh’s campus coordinator and will review student applications, after which she will match students with available host sites either on-campus or off-campus.

Students are then expected to complete 300 hours over the academic year, typically completing 10 hours per week and up to 29 hours per week during breaks and holidays. Host sites are required to commit to at least 300 hours of work for student corps members during the year.

SUNY Plattsburgh students are paid $16 an hour and at no charge to the host site. Wages are paid by the program.

AmeriCorps Connection

All 2026-2027 Empire Service Corps members who meet AmeriCorps program eligibility criteria will be expected to apply for AmeriCorps as a component of their Empire State membership. AmeriCorps enrolled members will earn additional benefits and an AmeriCorps education award of up to $1,400 disbursed upon completion of the 300 hours. Members enrolled in AmeriCorps will record their hours in the America Learns website in addition to the hourly tracking their coordinators oversee.

This year, SUNY Plattsburgh has fielded 26 students at 18 sites on- and off-campus, including the Student Health and Counseling Center, the Joint Council for Economic Opportunity and the Salvation Army, to name a few.

Kassidy Turek, a sophomore early childhood/special education major from Plattsburgh, was placed at a JCEO Head Start where she helps wherever she is needed.

“This can look like helping students remember to wash their hands, serving food during mealtimes, helping students learn through hands-on play and just being a good listener, trying to help meet their needs,” Turek said.

This was Turek’s first year as an Empire Service Corps member who plans to re-apply for next year.

“I really like the program,” she said. “One of the program’s overarching messages is ‘Here to do Good,’ which I think is so powerful, and it’s just a wonderful group of people involved who are coming together to truly work toward making a difference in their communities.”

‘Great Opportunity’

Watertown native Ruth Quinal, a junior double major in digital media and TV-video production, is a first-time corps member as well. She was placed at the Salvation Army in Plattsburgh helping volunteers and workers on the food pantry.

“This program is incredible and a great opportunity for secondary education students and the community,” Quinal said. “Not only do students get paid for their work, but they are also helping out those in need and connect with the community they reside in. My experience with the ESSC has been great. I have been able to interact and connect with others outside of my university, and I believe it has helped me become a lot more mindful.”

In her announcement that applications for the third year of the program were open, the governor lauded its ability to meet “the needs of New Yorkers while offering meaningful public service experience to SUNY students, helping them and our communities thrive.”

 “This transformative program allows us to nurture the next generation of leaders and ensure that they don’t have to choose between paid work and civic engagement,” Hochul said. “As we continue to expand civic engagement opportunities, I look forward to seeing students work toward addressing New York’s most pressing needs.”

Fiona Garofalo is another of SUNY Plattsburgh’s first-time corps members, putting in her service hours at the Adult Day Center on Bushy Boulevard in Plattsburgh. The nursing major from New York City works with elderly individuals and those with disabilities.

“My daily activities consist of coordinating with other volunteers and planning engaging activities for our registrants,” Garofalo said. “I spend time doing puzzles, playing games and creating arts and crafts in our great room. I also assist with serving meals, feeding and safely helping individuals move throughout the center.”

She works closely with the onsite LPN and nurse aides, supporting them with daily care tasks, she said.

“My amazing boss, Patricia Kinsman, has taught me so much since I started in November,” Garofalo said.
Through this service, I’ve been able to build meaningful relationships while gaining valuable experiences for my future nursing career.”

Reg Sutphen is in his second year with the corps having first been placed at the Cardinal Cupboard and this year being placed in the Student Counseling Center as administrative assistant for the peer counseling program. He is also a peer counselor, so the placement fits.

“I was the teaching assistant for the peer counseling training course and conducted research on outreach, benefits of peer counseling and ways to make the program run smoothly,” Sutphen said. “Now I assist with outreach, running events with the peer counselors and various other administrative tasks.”

The Oakland, Calif., native is a multi-hyphenate senior, in their fifth year of undergraduate work as a theater and music double major with a psychology minor and certificate in theater production and technology.

“This program has been incredibly pivotal in developing my career prospects,” Sutphen said. “Through this program, I have been able to gain relevant, hands-on job experience in my prospective field, making me a strong candidate for graduate studies.

“I have also been able to make an impact on my community and witness it firsthand. Increasing access to mental health resources has been a lifelong passion of mine and being able to do so while being compensated for my time is a great benefit,” Sutphen said.

“The program enjoys a mutually beneficial relationship with all parties involved,” they said. “A community gets assistance in an area it needs, a student gets employment, compensation and marketable job skills right on their campus, and student engagement increases across the board. My placement site has been an incredibly supportive environment, and I feel really lucky to be able to participate in a program like this.”

Applications are being accepted now through April 17 at https://www.suny.edu/student-experience/essc/. For more information on SUNY Plattsburgh’s Empire Service Corps program, contact Swick-Duttine at 518-564-2059 or email [email protected].

— By Associate Director of Communication Gerianne Downs with Photos Provided