Troy Misita: Sharing Buffalove and Dreaming Big

Troy Misita at a football game.

Creating outside opportunities. Telling people’s stories. Creating awareness.

These are all goals Troy Misita, student and floor leader in the ELN’s Sophomore Living Learning Community, aims to reach with the rest of his team through their year-long project. It’s ambitious, but as Troy says, “Why not dream big? If you dream too small, you’re not going to accomplish anything bigger than that.”

Troy and his team are focusing on arts and education and plan to accomplish their goals by first creating a video documentary that tells the stories of people in the greater Buffalo community. They’ll then use this video in a fundraising campaign to gain additional resources they’ll need to create a mural in the University Heights district near UB’s South Campus. The goal of the mural is get younger students and community members to work on the mural together, creating a piece of art that represents their community and, in the long run, creating a legacy of what art can do for the entire community. “Hopefully this will result in inspiring others to create something of their own that is a positive force of change for our community in Buffalo,” Troy explains.

Throughout the semester, Troy and his team have been developing their project and meeting with members of the community they hope will become collaborators on the project. Making connections like this off campus is a great networking opportunity, Troy says, and just one of the perks of living and learning in this community. “Ultimately, the reason I wanted to be with the ELN was because I figured it could help me become a bigger force for change in the community of Buffalo. Through this project, we could really impact the lives of people we may or may not know.”

For Troy, this experience has given him the chance to share his passion for the Buffalo community in a way that enriches him as a student and future business leader. “I believe that having experiences—actual hands-on learning opportunities—outweigh and go far beyond anything you can learn in the classroom.”

If you also want to make a positive impact in the Buffalo community through a hands-on learning experience, apply for the ELN’s Sophomore Living Learning Community at tinyurl.com/UBELN18!

 

Written by Amanda Hellwig ‘19