20 in Their twenties

Twenty-year-olds have been an invisible demographic in the Southern Tier for three decades, yet retaining young professionals in the region is a key to the economic vitality of the Southern Tier.

To bring attention and recognition to these leaders of tomorrow, STOC developed “20 in their Twenties” to provide resounding acknowledgement of the confident, intelligent and engaged 20-somethings who live, work and attend school in the Greater Binghamton area. Whether these young people are involved in local business, industry, education or government, they are already making a difference -- in their lives and the lives of those around them.

The initiative has been more successful than organizers could have imagined. More than 60 nominations for the 20 finalist positions were received. Even better, the nominations represented a breadth and depth of achievements, occupations and experiences.. See Bio link below

Nominations, requiring letters of nomination and support as well as an essay by the nominee, were reviewed for achievement in any or all of the following areas:

Academic Excellence – demonstration of one’s abilities in the classroom through such measures as a grade point average of 3.5 or above, receipt of awards for academic achievement from the academic institutions an individual has attended, or from other organizations that value education, and/or references from past teachers of an individual’s contributions to the classroom and to education.

Community Service – demonstration of commitment to the community through such activities as service on nonprofit boards, participation in/support of youth or other community-oriented activities, volunteering one’s time to charitable causes.

Leadership – demonstration of one’s ability to lead a project, effort or organization to complete a task or reach a goal, be it for a municipality, business, school or community agency.

Personal Growth – demonstration of strength of character or a commitment to better oneself that may or may not be apparent to most, such as attending school while working full-time and caring for someone who is ill.

Professional Achievement – demonstration of excellence in one’s chosen career through such measures as recognition by peers, receipt of association awards, involvement in professional development activities and/or associations representing one’s chosen career, serving as an officer for such an association, acknowledgement for contributions to your field or community, being sought after for your expertise and/or as a presenter/speaker.

Class of 2008 Bio's