Data Visualizations used for the SUNY New Paltz “Low Wage Living in the Hudson Valley” project By Casey Silvestri Percentage of Persons in Poverty, 2015 Create column charts Minimum Wage vs. Living Wage Create line charts Is Your Unpaid Internship Illegal? Create your own […]
low wage living
By Kristen Warfield The sun has barely started to rise at 5:30 a.m. when Mercedes Ortiz turns off her alarm to get ready for school. Achy and fatigued, she rolls out of bed at her family’s home in Walden, New York, knowing there’s another long day ahead. To the sounds […]
By Bryce Eckwall Bill Meade lives alone in a camper on his mother’s property with his German Sheppard named Kaiser. The fifty-year-old cook makes his way to work about an hour south, five days a week serving up the likes of 34-ounce porterhouse steaks for two and roasted duck. […]
By Rosalba Corrao On a recent weekday morning, Gonzalez led children to a green door. “Get in line, come on, get in line,” she said. The teachers and assistants were moving the 12 children from the green music room to the red classroom. The children, all about three years old, […]
By Avery Seyler-Wetzel Laura Petrocelli knew being thirty thousand dollars deep in debt was not the best way to start a new life after college, but she also knew that if she was going to do college, she was going to do it right. Petrocelli, a junior at the State University […]
By Holly Lipka It’s 4:45 p.m. on a Wednesday at The Gilded Otter. The large west-facing windows create a beautiful background for the diners as the sun sets behind the Shawangunk Ridge. It’s a relaxed evening before the dinner rush, with only a few people sitting at the wooden […]
By Nick Tantillo There is a laminated sign that hangs in the rear of the Convenient Deli in New Paltz. What used to read “Overnight Shift” has been scribbled out with a black marker and replaced with “Overwatch Shift,” a video game reference. Beneath the black zig-zag is a list […]
By Michael Rosen After Mario Prainito, 22, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in media programming and management, he couldn’t find a full-time job. He did get an unpaid internship in Kingston, a short commute from New Paltz. Prainito stayed in New Paltz, paying rent for the house he has been […]
By Marisa Losciale Just by looking at 23-year old Elena Kilcullen, you’d have no idea she was struggling to feed herself and her unemployed boyfriend. Kilcullen is tall and thin with a charred-burgundy, slightly overgrown pixie cut—which conveniently hides her undercut from her professional life. She also has begun a […]
By Anthony Mitthauer-Orza Janet Yusko never would have saw her life go from a having full-time job to seeing her father pass away and returning home to care for 82-year-old mother with dementia. At age 55, Yusko finds herself caught in a bind. After holding high-level administrative jobs in Ulster […]
By Mike Timpert Eleanor Candee was lying on the floor of her housemate Erica’s bedroom in tears. She didn’t want to smell like the place anymore, that scent of coffee and microwaved bagels that clung to her clothes and never left. She didn’t want to spend her weekends consumed with […]
By Melissa Kramer In the frigid basement of a six-person house, curly-haired, 21-year-old Matt Joyce perches on his bed, fiddling with an unplugged electric guitar. The bed, with no headboard or box frame, sits on the concrete floor in the corner. The sounds of rain and wind permeate a small […]
By Briana Dunlay It is 6:50 a.m. on a Wednesday and Kelsey Simmons is about to start her day. Her shift ended late, and she did not get home until after 10:00 p.m. A night of homework has her struggling to wake up. Simmons does not have to be at […]
By Julianna Novellino Jared Peer, a senior at SUNY New Paltz, leads a group of prospective students through the sculpture hall, telling them animated stories about his own experiences in the fine arts building As the tour comes to an end, he eagerly asks if anyone has questions. “What is your […]
By Alex Curci It is almost time to head home from a long day of work at the ShopRite of New Paltz. Nicole Perconti is finishing up packing out an end cap when she realizes she needs to get dinner ready for her and her mom. Unfortunately, payday is Friday […]
