PRESS RELEASE | South Florida Advocate for Educational Access Aims To Walk 100 Miles
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 12, 2024
South Florida Advocate for Educational Access Aims To Walk 100 Miles To Raise Awareness of Critical Resources Needed To Clear The Pathway To College For Students
Over four days, Ari Sernik, a volunteer leader for Nyah Project, will walk to raise awareness and funding to support the organization’s college access programs that serve underrepresented students.
MIAMI, FL (February 12, 2024) - Nyah Project, a non-profit that supports underrepresented youth by providing training and tech based tools to enable access to higher education, announced that Ari Sernik, longtime volunteer leader, will embark upon an ambitious personal challenge to walk 100 miles in four days to highlight the organization’s decade of impact in advancing college access and youth leadership development.
Since its inception, Nyah Project has helped South Florida students win over $26 million in college scholarships and participants in its signature fellowship program boast a 100% immediate college enrollment rate and a 98% scholarship acquisition rate.
“Ari has remained an incredible advocate for Nyah Project since 2015 and served in different capacities to support our mission,” says Leigh-Ann Buchanan, Nyah Project founder. “This walk is a testament to our shared commitment to ensure that students, regardless of their background and circumstances, will continue to have access to life-changing opportunities such as higher education and transformative experiences abroad.”
Influenced by viral social media champions for mental and physical well-being, Sernik has completed two 12-hour walks in the past year to prepare. His initial walk from Aventura to Pompano Beach covered 29 miles in one stretch and ignited a newfound sense of purpose and determination. Ten months later, he walked 33.5 miles from Doral to Haulover Park, solidifying his commitment to personal growth and overcoming unique challenges.
When Nyah Project challenged its volunteers to come up with creative ways to support the organization’s fundraising efforts, Sernik conceived the idea of walking 100 miles in four days. In May 2024, Nyah Project will celebrate a decade of service to youth in South Florida. Sernik’s journey aims to raise funds for Nyah Project’s college access and leadership development programs.
Every year, an estimated 3 million students graduate from high school in the United States, yet more than 40% of underrepresented students don’t make it to college. Nyah Project aims to close this gap through an innovative, on-demand college access edtech platform that remains accessible to students individually, schools and community based organizations, along with leadership development and transformative fellowships abroad.
From February 22 to 25, Sernik’s walk will include stops at ten South Florida institutions for higher education, from Florida International University in Doral to Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. His route seeks to emphasize the importance of unobstructed access to transformative opportunities in higher education, especially for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
“This journey, starting with the spontaneity of backpacking through Southeast Asia in 2012 to the deliberate steps taken, now quite literally, to support the Nyah Project, embodies my commitment to pushing boundaries, fostering personal growth, dismantling limiting beliefs, and advocating for transformative change,” says Sernik of his walk challenge.
Four-Day Walk Schedule and Confirmed Stops:
Day 1 (Thursday, February 22): Florida International University (FIU), University of Miami, FIU - Downtown on Brickell, Miami-Dade College - Wolfson Campus
Day 2 (Friday, February 23): Miami-Dade College - Wolfson Campus, Barry University, Florida Memorial University, St. Thomas University, Broward College - South Campus
Day 3 (Saturday, February 24): Broward College - South Campus, Nova Southeastern University
Day 4 (Sunday, February 25): Florida Atlantic University
Look for live updates of Ari’s journey on social media by following @nyahproject on Instagram. To donate and learn more about Ari’s walk, please visit: https://givebutter.com/nyah-project/arisernik
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ABOUT NYAH PROJECT:
Nyah Project is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that clears the pathway to college for underrepresented students by providing training and tech based tools that remove the practical and systemic barriers to higher education. Since 2014, Nyah Project has helped high school students in South Florida win over $26 million in scholarships through college access coaching, leadership development, and transformative fellowships abroad. www.nyahproject.org
MEDIA CONTACTS:
For Nyah Project: Aileen Alon: info@nyahproject.org / 954-507-7004
Ari Sernik (individually): sernikari88@gmail.com
