Birds, Careers and Conservation Workshop FAQ

What do “full scholarships” cover?

Scholarships will cover travel, accommodations in Ithaca, food, and workshop expenses.

What do you mean by “chaperones”? Will expenses be paid for chaperones who accompany youth?

Chaperones must be adults over 21 years old who agree to take full responsibility for youth while traveling, attending the workshop, and staying at the hotel or dorms after hours. Chaperones should attend the workshop and be available at all times. Funds will cover all expenses for chaperones, including travel, accommodations, food, and workshop expenses. Chaperones who are not family members of youth may not share rooms with youth and will stay in rooms located in the same hallway as youth. One chaperone can supervise up to ten youth.

What does “low income” mean?

We consider any youth who are eligible to receive free/reduced meals at school eligible for full scholarships.

The application/nomination survey will ask for family income information (if known) and any extenuating circumstances.

If you want more details about income eligibility please email us at urbanbirds@cornell.edu.

What are you looking for in youth who are applying?

We are looking for youth who have not had opportunities to participate in these kinds of programs before.

We wish to provide rich experiences that will motivate, excite, and teach youth about opportunities and paths in higher education.

In the past we've worked with youth who had not considered getting a degree beyond high school, youth who had never traveled outside of their home city, youth/chaperones who spoke no English (all our programs are bilingual in English and Spanish), youth who knew nothing about birds, youth who had dropped out of school, youth who were highly motivated and were seeking new opportunities, youth who were looking for mentors and role models to guide them, and more.

We will interview all youth and adults who are nominating youth before accepting participants into the program.