The WellsLink Leadership Program invites the campus community to attend the 20th Annual WellsLink Transition Ceremony on Friday, Feb. 16, from 4 to 6 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. The ceremony will be followed by a reception. Please RSVP by Friday, Feb. 9.
“The WellsLink program has been transformative for many of our first-year students of color. By providing mentoring, leadership development and a supportive community, it not only supports the transition to college life but also lays the foundation for their success at Syracuse University and beyond,” says Breana Nieves Vergara, Multicultural Affairs assistant director. “I’ve seen students gain tremendous confidence in themselves and their abilities. Students form strong bonds with peers and mentors that motivate them to achieve their full potential. The relationships we work to facilitate through the program truly enrich the academic experience for students of color in their critical first year on campus. I’m excited to watch these talented young leaders continue to thrive with the foundation the program has provided.”
Through academic, social and cultural enrichment activities to foster success for first-year students of color on their college journey, the WellsLink Leadership Program is nationally recognized for academic and leadership excellence. As a celebration of student leader growth, the Transitions Ceremony honors WellsLink Scholars who have successfully transitioned into their second year at Syracuse University.
The ceremony will host keynote speaker Jenn Harper, award-winning social entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics Inc., student scholars’ stories of transformation, and Academic Excellence Awards, Leadership Capital Certificates and stole presentation.
“For incoming students of color, the Transitions Ceremony serves as a visual representation that they are capable of success in college. Being able to see students that look like you prevailing in their academics and lifestyles is empowering,” says Ashley Kao ’26, second year WellsLink Leadership Program Scholar and peer leader. “It is a reminder that they can do anything they put their mind to, and they’ll always have the WellsLink community to support them.”
Jenn Harper
The 20th Annual WellsLink Transitions Ceremony will feature keynote speaker Jenn Harper. An award-winning social entrepreneur, Harper is founder and CEO of Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics Inc. With a mission to help every Indigenous youth see and feel their enormous value in the world while creating sustainable cosmetics, Cheekbone Beauty is a digitally native direct-to-consumer brand that is helping Indigenous youth see themselves in a beauty brand while using the concept of Life Cycle Thinking in the brand’s ethos and in developing products, creating a new segment in the beauty industry—Sustainable Socially Conscious Beauty.
In addition to Cheekbone’s mission, Harper strives to educate as many people as possible about the Residential School System and the effects it has had on her family and friends through decades of generational trauma. She speaks regularly to high school and college students about social entrepreneurship, empathy and the history of her First Nations family. She has also been invited to speak to various entrepreneur groups, women in business associations, Apple Canada and First Nations organizations.
She was named 2019 “Women of the Year” by Chatelaine magazine and made the 2022 “100 Women of Influence” list by Entrepreneur magazine. In 2023, Harper received an honorary doctorate degree from Brock University for her commitment to sustainability and commitment to her community.
This year’s ceremony will honor the following students:
The WellsLink Leadership Program is a nationally recognized academic and leadership excellence program geared towards first-year students of color. Through structured academic, social and cultural enrichment activities, WellsLink Scholars develop the leadership capital necessary for exceptional success at Syracuse University and beyond. The program name was chosen to honor Barry L. Wells, founding director of Syracuse University’s first Office of Minority Affairs in 1976 and retired senior vice president and dean of student affairs.
The WellsLink Leadership Program is sponsored by Multicultural Affairs in the Student Experience division, and was designed by director James K. Duah-Agyeman and former associate director Paul M. Buckley. Since the program’s inception in 2003, WellsLink Scholars have demonstrated outstanding leadership at the University with representation at the executive levels of many student organizations, task forces, committees and networks of service. They are high academic performers and balanced community citizens.
Story by Madison Manczko ’24, Student Experience communication intern
