Graduation
BY REYNA IWAMOTO
Green-Wood Cemetery
on Wednesday, June 15 commended
the city’s next generation
of masonry workers as 14
young men and women celebrated
their completion of the
2021 Bridge to Crafts Careers
Program.
The graduates — many of
whom come from under-served
communities and have had
to endure challenges such as
housing insecurity, behavioral
and mental health challenges
or involvement in the justice
system — each participated
in the stone mason’s training
program, where they learned
the various skills necessary to
work on historic sites.
As part of the paid internship
program, which teaches
stone setting and pointing, participants
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy
Helping students grow in faith and wisdom
COURIER L 32 IFE, JUNE 25-JULY 1, 2021
worked to restore Garrison
Mausoleum — the fi nal
resting place of Cornelius Kingsland
Garrison, the shipping
magnate and former mayor of
San Francisco.
At the end of the 10-week program,
all 14 graduates earned
their Occupational Safety and
Health Administration certifi
cations for working on supported
scaffolding, and many
also earned swing scaffolding
certifi cation — each required by
the city’s Department of Buildings
to be hired for construction
and masonry jobs.
This year’s completion ceremony
is the third to occur and the
14 graduates are among 31 others
to have successfully completed
the program, a partnership of
four organization: Opportunities
for a Better Tomorrow (OBT), the
International Masonry Institute,
the World Monuments Fund and
The Green-Wood Historic Fund.
The trainees worked under
the guidance of Neela Wickremesinghe,
the Robert A. and
Elizabeth Rohn Jeffe Director
of Restoration and Preservation
at Green-Wood.
“I’m really impressed that
they were able to go from a year
of a pandemic being inside and
really pick up and go through
a full, in-person program and
job,” Wickremesinghe told
Brooklyn Paper. “I think that
it’s a testament to them, that
they are resilient young people
and are ready for that next step
in their career.”
One of the graduates, Aniyah
Bridge to Crafts Careers Program graduates. Photo by Reyna Iwamoto
Carr, said that she fi rst
got involved with carpentry 10
years ago when she was placed
in a woodshop class. “I did it
and I fell in love,” she said.
Carr’s end goal is to become
a carpenter, and she said this
experience has taught her dedication
and has given her a new
perspective. “I’ve always loved
old things,” Carr said. “Knowing
there is a job in that — to restore
it and keep it up — that taught me
a new respect for things around
me in the world.”
The graduates will receive
one year of follow-up services
from OBT and are now eligible
to apply for an apprenticeship
with Bricklayers and Allied
Craftsworkers Local 1 New
York, other jobs in the trades,
and higher education to pursue
other related fi elds.
Looking to the future, Wickremesinghe
hopes that the
graduates will continue to “ accomplish
goals that they see for
themselves.”
“Whether that be in higher
education, restoration, construction,
continuing on in a
different trade — I just want
them to be able to go forward
and live a sustainable life,” she
said.
‘Next generation’ of
masonry workers lauded
at Green-Wood graduation
Congratulations/Felicidades
Our Lady of Grace
Catholic Academy
Jacqueline Bocchieri
Livia Carbajal
Victoria Cummings
Luigi DiNatale
Tinamarie Dutton
Kristina Gattuso
Jonathan Hirsch
Toni Leone
Gabriel Macedo
2021
Adorabella Marielli
Joseph Naranjo
Joseph Nelson
Sofia Priante
Joseph Rotondi
Alessandra Sallustio
Luke Sardone
Victoria Spagnuolo
Thomas Tadros
www.olgbk.org
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