Alum Manny Castro 02F Awarded $200,000 Grant from the David Prize for his Work with New Immigrants

Manny Castro 02F, executive director of the New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) organization in Queens, NY, was recently recognized with a $200,000 grant from the David Prize, which supports New Yorkers with the plans and vision to make a difference in the lives of the city’s residents.

The New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of immigrant workers in New York, with a focus on day laborers, domestic workers, and newly arrived immigrants. NICE offers an extensive set of services, community organizing, and leadership development programs.

While at Hampshire College, Castro studied urban anthropology with a focus on immigrant workers who became entrepreneurs. Castro also served as student representative on the College’s board of trustees.

Of his time at Hampshire and how it prepared him for his work as executive director of NICE, Castro told the Daily Hampshire Gazette:

“A lot of what you do there is very much self-driven, project-based and without the constraints of the more rigid grading system,” Castro said. “You create your own major. That type of innovation, frankly, trains you for work like this. What I’ve essentially done is create my own path, and that’s what Hampshire is in a way set up to do.”

Read full article in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.