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Island Seniors mull their futures at college
fair
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
Sunday, October 20, 2002
Students bound for higher learning educate themselves on some
educational possibilities
As the fall semester progresses, it’s time for high school
seniors to start thinking about their futures.
Although choosing a college can sometimes be overwhelming and
confusing, Staten Island students found plenty of assistance and
advice on how to choose an institution of higher learning at the Big
Apple College Fair, held yesterday in the College of Staten Island,
Willowbrook.
Sponsored by the City University of New York (CUNY) and currently
in its 23rd year, the free event brought over 150 college
representatives and financial aid experts from all over the country
to CSI.
Students and their parents were greeted at the glass doors of the
school’s Sports and Recreation Center with booklets and magazines
featuring articles such as “The Elusive College Essay: How To Get
the ‘Write’ Stuff” and “The Lowdown on Balancing Schools and Work.”
Further down the halls, volunteers were ready to assist
bewildered teens in finding the location of specific college
representatives and directed them to schools pertaining to chosen
majors or interests. The exercise rooms, normally used for
racquetball practice, held small groups of teachers and students
discussing career possibilities.
“I’m just trying to get a look at the colleges that interest me,”
said Michael Surman, a Tottenville High School. “I’d like to go into
college as a premed, and I’m just trying to decide which college
here would help me the most with that.”
Under a sea of red, white, and blue balloons, college
representatives stood at attention and conversed with students and
parents about course offerings, admission requirements, financial
aid and scholarships.
Brochures and pamphlets from every college were only an arm’s
length away as students milled between the aisles featuring the best
in academia.
“The reality is that the students need to be expose to different
colleges,” said Michael Hemmings, a representative from Wood Tobe-Coburn
School, Manhattan. “In turn, colleges need to know what it is the
students want, what it is they look for.”
“Students should consider their talents, what they’re good at,”
Hemmings continued. “That’s what we encourage the students to do.
School is a decision concerning how you will make money in this
world.”
“To be truly happy doing it, you have to develop the skills and
talents you may already have.”
By Victoria Gueli
Reprinted here with permission from the
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