Students who work with Daniel Bonnet, director of the Center for Colleges and Careers with the Guidance Center of Westchester in New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, will most likely succeed because he won’t rest until they do. His program, which helps at-risk youth obtain high school (or equivalency) diplomas, boasted a 100 percent graduation rate last year. Further, all of the students he counseled were accepted into post-secondary education. Tapping into every available means of support — financial aid, family counseling, legal aid, employment assistance for students’ parents, the Food Bank for Westchester — is key to his program’s success rate, Bonnet says. This multifaceted approach extends to his work improving lives in New Rochelle generally. He cocreated Mothers on the Move to Support and Raise our Children (MOMSROC) and serves as board member for the New Rochelle branch of My Brother’s Keeper, acting as youth mentor. (Bonnet and a successful mentee recently appeared on The Steve Harvey Show.) “I was born in New Rochelle; I still live here,” he explains. “I’m passionate about giving back to the community and its youth.”
Daniel Bonnet, 29
Director, Center for Colleges and Careers, the Guidance Center of Westchester