Student Connection (LGAA 2005)

Village of Lake George (Winner)
County: Warren County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (518) 668-5771

The Village of Lake George successfully managed to confront one of its most popular complaints: those of international summer workers. The Village of Lake George; alongside the Town of Lake, Bolton, and Queensbury, organized a joint-program called “Student Connection” aimed at servicing the needs surrounding international students. Following years of complaints of both students and employers, concerning wages, working, and living condition, Student Connection now serves as a centralized office where students coming on the J-1 Visa program can now go look for jobs, housing, or to make complaints. The program is funded through the municipalities, totaling $20,000, with each municipality proportionality paying into the fund based off the percentage of students they employ. The program is seeking to expand in its second year after a successful first year, seeing an overall 70% decrease in complaints!