Young announces stepping down from Senate to take job at Cornell University...
STATEMENT FROM SENATOR CATHARINE M. YOUNG (R,C,I-57TH DISTRICT)
Serving the people of our region for the past 23 years truly has been the deepest honor of my life, first as a Cattaraugus County legislator, then as a New York State Assemblywoman and Senator. I often have reflected about that sunburned and freckled-faced kid with pigtails who spent so much time working and playing on our farm, always having big hopes and dreams but never realizing that I would someday have the opportunity to find my passion of helping others as a Senator. Reaching out a hand to people and communities, growing the economy, nurturing agriculture and being a champion for upstate New York always have been at the top of my priorities. That calling has inspired, driven and fulfilled me, and there have been countless successes over these many years. More than anything, people need good-paying jobs to support themselves and their families. Upstate New York needs thriving businesses to provide those jobs and to revitalize our communities. And our farmers need innovative ways to boost profitability. Now, there’s a new and exciting opportunity to carry on my public service, by not only continuing to work hard for Western New York, but to advance economic growth and prosperity statewide by leading the Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech. Cornell University holds special and personal significance to my family and to me. My grandparents toiled and struggled during the great Depression, raising four children on the farm in the hardest of times. In spite of tremendous adversity, they made sure that each of their children focused on getting a good education so that they would have better lives. In 1949, my father went off to Cornell University, and he and his siblings were the first generation in our family to graduate from college. Leaving my job in the Senate – a job that I love – has not been an easy decision and it is bittersweet. Young will begin her new position at Cornell on Mar. 11, 2019.
