Current Cohort
Welcome to the fifth cohort of Grace Year Fellows (GY5), arriving in August 2022! They will be in residence at the vicarage until June, 2023.
Caroline de Marneffe (Coco)
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Coco graduated from Fordham University in 2022 with a degree in Theology and Fashion. Her agnostic upbringing in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona combined with her Jesuit college education in Manhattan allows her to come to grace year with curiosity about religious experience and a desire to grow. Coco finds peace in movement and especially enjoys running and yoga. Her service work is with the Food of Life Pantry and Seasoned Gives. She is excited to work outside and with her body at the Food of Life Pantry garden and to use her prior start-up experience to support BIPOC entrepreneurs and learn about non-profit organizations at Seasoned Gives.
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Rachael Langston
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Rachael graduated from St. John’s College in Annapolis MD in 2019, in the same town she grew up in. There, she participated in an all-required curriculum with discussion based learning
and focus on original sources. She loved it. During her summers, she also took a 6 week painting course in France, and interned at Brooklyn Legal Corporation A, a Legal Aid nonprofit that represents tenants against landlord harassment and illegal eviction. Since graduation shehas worked as a social media intern at Housing Up, a paralegal at The Donahue Law Firm, and as the National Text Bank Coordinator for the Poor People’s Campaign. In her position as a paralegal she worked on a case representing public housing tenants who were suing the city for not inspecting their homes like other rental units, and letting them fall into disrepair. In this case she got to do a lot of research on the city of Annapolis, and learned about an urban renewal project in the 60's that had decimated the local black community and forced people out of their neighborhoods into public housing. This, combined with a legal internship in Brooklyn, led her to an interest in fair housing and urban planning. This past summer she took a 3 week urban design course at Harvard, and is still wondering whether she liked it or not. She is a born and raised member of both the Episcopal church and the Disciples of Christ, with a definite Episcopal leaning. She is excited to further delve into the faith she has grown into in an environment designed for questioning and learning, in hopes of deepening her faith and her connection to it. She is also very excited to learn about other religions and the interfaith aspect of the program, hoping to learn from them as well. Rachael enjoys drawing and painting, reading, being outside, and traveling. She hopes to pick back up swing dancing as her health allows. She is very excited to work as the policy fellow for Grace Immigrant Outreach! |
Kara-Lyn Moran
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Kara-Lyn Moran is a native of Des Moines, Iowa but spent her college years at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. At Lafayette, Kara-Lyn got her degree in Environmental Studies and Religious Studies, where she was able to combine both majors into an honors thesis about religious components of environmental justice movements. Her passions lie in connecting with people, the land and the food we eat, all of which are important to her. During a semester in college, she was able to study sustainable food practices in Scandinavia while living in Copenhagen, which was an amazing opportunity she will talk to anyone about, at any time. Scandinavia and its values are something she likes to incorporate into her own life. Kara-Lyn is on her own spiritual journey trying to figure out where she fits in. Growing up in a Baptist Church, the community was integral to her upbringing and was very important to her childhood, but since leaving Iowa she finds herself seeking community wherever she goes. This is partially what led her to Grace Year, finding a place with intentional community, where she can figure out what to do post-college, while doing work that is meaningful to her. During this year, she will be working with The Dutchess County Land Conservancy and is very excited about it. Outside of her work, Kara-Lyn is an avid reader, loves being outside exploring, baking, working out, and having conversations with others.
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Benjamin York
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Ben (he/him/his) graduated from Miami University (Oxford, OH) in December of 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Nonprofit and Community Studies. Ben has spent his time since graduation working as a barista (aka professional caffeine consumer) and serving in multiple roles at his home parish, Epiphany Lutheran Church in Dayton, Ohio. Ben comes from a Lutheran background but has developed a deep appreciation for the liturgy and spirituality of the Episcopal Church and other traditions. The way of St. Francis of Assisi is of particular interest to him as someone who values simplicity, service, and caring for creation.
Ben is dedicated to following the changing revelation of God’s call for his life and is thrilled that Grace Year is where he is called to be for the next year. He felt drawn to Grace Year as an opportunity to dive headfirst into a new community and to put his hope to be of service to others into practice. He is excited to spend lots of quality time relaxing, learning, and serving with his fellow corps members and to become an active member of both Grace Church and the wider Millbrook community. During his time with Grace Year, Ben plans to discern and prepare for the next part of his life while also working at Grace Immigrant Outreach as his service partner site. Ben’s current interests include expanding his coffee knowledge, learning about liturgy and theology, sending his friends an inordinate number of Tiktok videos every night, and cooking plant-based meals. |
