Hostos Student Christopher Reynoso Joins Summer 2019 CUNY Service Corps—Puerto Rico

Another Hostos student will join the growing list of Caimans who have participated in the recovery effort in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.
 

Christopher Reynoso is heading to the island this summer as part of CUNY Service Corps’ partnership with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s NY Stands with Puerto Rico Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative, and the 22-year-old said he is eager to roll up his sleeves and get to work.
 

While Reynoso’s family hails from the Dominican Republic, the Bronx native said he feels a kinship to Puerto Rico, as many of his friends, teachers and mentors were either born there or are of Puerto Rican descent—including some who were directly impacted by the hurricane or served as chaperones on previous Service Corps trips to the island. Their personal accounts coupled with his own desire to help communities in need made applying to the CUNY Service Corps—Puerto Rico initiative this year an easy decision.
 

“It was a chance for me to do something for my Caribbean people,” explained Reynoso.
 

Reynoso is no stranger to public service or working with his hands. He currently serves as an in-school mentor at the Thurgood Marshall Academy lower-level school through Harlem Grown, a community-based non-profit dedicated to inspiring young people to lead healthy and ambitious lives through mentorship and hands-on education in urban farming. As a teen he was involved with the another community-based non-profit organization, Rocking the Boat, where he learned how to build wooden boats that were used in other aspects of the program, such as rowing, environmental studies, and more.
 

Reynoso leaves on June 30 and will join CUNY and SUNY students from across the state in Puerto Rico for two weeks, during which time he will repair roofs, as well as learn about the island’s culture and history. Last summer, five Hostos students participated in the same initiative and six volunteered in Lares, Puerto Rico, as part of a service trip organized by Professor Lizette Colón.
 

Reynoso said the people he’s spoken to who have volunteered on the island described their experiences as transformative, and he has no doubt it’ll be the same for him. He also feels this opportunity is about building relationships and forging meaningful connections with members of the local communities.

“The most important reason that we’re going there—yes, we’re doing relief work—but it’s a labor of love,” he said. “It’s engaging with the people, spending time with them.”