For Immediate Release Jan. 11, 2016
Velshonna Luckey, youth program director at Robinson Community Center,
receives 2016 Executive Journey Fellowship
Velshonna Luckey, youth development program director at the University of Notre
Dame’s Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC), has been awarded a 2016 Executive
Journey Fellowship.
Luckey is one of 29 youth workers statewide receiving the fellowship, which has been
annually awarded since 2002. Funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc., the fellowship provides
Indiana’s youth workers greater opportunities to bring more meaning to their lives and make
stronger commitments to the field. The fellows attend a series of residential retreats designed to
create new ways of thinking about and practicing youth work within existing systems and youth
programs, are awarded individual renewal scholarships, and are supported to make a difference
within their local organizations or communities.
Luckey oversees after-school tutoring and enrichment programs at the RCLC, helping
students in the first through 12th grades develop literacy skills, study habits and career plans.
A native of Detroit, Luckey joined Notre Dame’s staff in 2002 and has worked at the
RCLC since 2006. Among other honors she has received for her work there is the 2014 Indiana
Torchbearer Award.
Since its founding in 2001, the RCLC has expanded to reach more than 500 adult and
student participants each week, and its outreach programs impact thousands of South
Bend/Mishawaka youths every year. The center boasts 300 weekly college student volunteers
who tutor and mentor the RCLC students, and many community volunteers who support the
RCLC’s efforts.