Blog
Teaching Fellow Spotlight: Sarah Ahmed
For Sarah Ahmed, joining Breakthrough New York as a Teaching Fellow was an opportunity to put her studies into practice while contributing to a mission that felt deeply personal. Sarah is a senior at the CUNY College of Staten Island, where she is pursuing a degree in...
College Graduate Spotlight: Anamaria Santos Mendez
When Anamaria first encountered Breakthrough New York, she already had a glimpse of what the program could offer. Her older brother had joined BTNY two years earlier, and she often tagged along to celebrations and activities. “I saw the opportunities that he was...
Teaching Fellow Spotlight: Jesse Schumann
When Jesse first joined Breakthrough New York last summer as a Teaching Fellow, he was looking for meaningful classroom experience. What he found was something much bigger, which is why he chose to return this year. Now a senior at NYU studying education, Jesse is...
Carnegie Corporation of New York Awards $950,000 Grant to Breakthrough New York to Expand Educational Access for Middle School Students
Contact: Bethany Nelson Email: bethany@btny.org Carnegie Contact: Angely Montilla Email: AEM@carnegie.org New York, NY (Oct 10, 2025) — Breakthrough New York (BTNY) is pleased to announce a $950,000 three-year grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York (Carnegie) to...
High School Transition: An Interview with Bryan Luna
Bryan Luna is a Breakthrough New York student who is wrapping up his first year of high school. In this interview, he shares his Breakthrough experience and how the organization was able to support him in middle school and...
Corporate Partner Spotlight: Campbell Lutyens
Campbell Lutyens is a leading global and independent private markets advisor, focused on fund placement, secondary advisory and GP capital advisory services. The firm has been a supporter of Breakthrough New York since 2017 and an official corporate partner since...
Alumni Spotlight: Karen Li’s Breakthrough Story
Breakthrough New York profoundly emphasizes community, viewing it as essential to fostering a sense of belonging and collective empowerment among our students, families, volunteers, and staff. For Karen Li (Yale University, Class of 2023), that sense of community...
Staff Reflection: Community is What We Do
Anita has worked for Breakthrough New York for nearly four years, first as a Brooklyn Program Manager and now as the Senior Middle School Program Advisor. In this essay, she reflects on the magic of the Breakthrough community and her experiences building project-based...
Teaching Fellow Spotlight: Mayisha Fariha
This summer, Mayisha Fariha worked as a Teaching Fellow for Breakthrough New York's intensive, five-week middle school summer program. She is entering her senior year at Hunter College, where she is double majoring in Adolescent Education and History. Inspired by her...
Class of 2028 College Picks
Breakthrough New York congratulates the Class of 2028 on their college enrollments! These impressive college freshman have enrolled in both public and private institutions across the country. Check out the full list of college picks below! Afia - Lehigh University...
Breakthrough New York Names New Executive Director Nikki Thompson
Breakthrough New York announced today that Nikki Thompson will be its new Executive Director. Nikki started in her new role on May 15, 2024 and brings with her an extensive background in the social sector in NYC, with a focus on K-16 education. She started her career...
Student Spotlight: Penuela Kumi-Damoah
Penuela Kumi-Damoah, a Breakthrough New York student, will be attending Yale and majoring in neuroscience. Penuela shared some of her reasons for choosing Yale and her passion for neuroscience. Penuela's interest in medicine stemmed from a childhood experience where...