The Joseph A. Forgione Development School for Youth (DSY) held its Spring 2006 graduation on Wednesday, May 17 at the offices of Merrill Lynch in New York City. Fifty-nine young people graduated bringing the total number of graduates for the year to ninety-eight.

Between the New York City and Newark DSY programs, a total of 158 young people graduated from the winter and spring classes.

This summer, 156 young people from the New York and New Jersey DSY programs will be placed in paid summer internships in 62 sponsoring companies.

"I guess I would say that the DSY is a street without an end because we learned things that will be useful to us in the future, such as: how to express ourselves in a corporate setting, how to accept constructive criticism and how to dress professionally without feeling like something was being taken away, but instead that something was being given to us."

- Alicia John, 17, Brooklyn, NY, Spring 2006 DSY Graduate

For more information on — or to get involved with — the DSY, please contact Kirsten Fulda at 212-941-9400 ext. 323.