Central seniors give college advice to freshman

It’s not too early to start thinking about college, joining in school clubs and volunteering in the community, said several Valley Stream Central High School seniors.

The group of about a dozen seniors stopped by Memorial Junior High School on Oct. 12 to speak to several ninth-grade classes during the school’s annual College Day. Speaking to their younger counterparts, the Central seniors imparted advice. They also shared their college plans, telling the students about the application process with the help of two district guidance counselors, Amy La Personerie from Central and Michele Jackson-Powell from Memorial.

“You have to work hard,” Luke Demas, 17, said to the ninth graders. “You have to take advantage of all the opportunities given to you.”

Demas recalled sitting through the annual College Day presentation himself as a ninth-grader. Like others, he thought he had plenty of time before college became a reality. He soon realized that it was important to get involved at Central. He currently plays volleyball, does peer mentoring, and is a member of the National Honor Society. He would like to study chemistry at Columbia University.

La Personerie and Jackson-Powell gave presentations about the importance of good grades, hard work and extra-curricular activities when applying to colleges. The ninth-graders are already earning high school credits — 22 are required to graduate. The counselors also stressed that students should earn the best grades possible, as those grades are recorded on their high school transcripts. Examples of transcripts were shown to the students.

The guidance counselors said it is also important to aim for more than just satisfying the minimum requirements for graduation. “You need to challenge yourself all years,” Jackson-Powell said.

Students were also told that they cannot graduate without passing all required New York state Regents exams. It’s about making choices, and LaPersonerie said and there is nothing wrong with starting out at a two-year college like a City University of New York school.

Abimbola Falana, a 17-year-old Central senior, told the ninth-graders about how she decided to take the “club route” at Central. This year, she is a peer mentor and member of the school’s Culinary Club, National Honor Society and Students Against Destructive Decisions. “You have to distinguish yourself,” she said.

The College Day program for Falana just three years ago was an eye-opener, she said. She hopes to attend SUNY New Paltz or SUNY Purchase next fall.

Heather LaBarbera, 17, is interested in Binghamton and George Washington universities. The Central senior plans to study musical theater or musical therapy. “You can’t just have activities without good grades to back it up,” she said.

Several ninth graders said they learned a lot from the program. “The presentation really helped because I didn’t think this was a big deal,” said Gabriel Alego, 13. “It really showed that you have to keep your grades up.”

Danielle Wright, 14, said she wants to join clubs at Central next year.

One particular point made, that ninth-graders found interesting, was about colleges looking at the online activity — mainly Facebook — of prospective students. “I thought the presentation was good because when you think about it, you never know what they look at online,” Wright said.

Memorial Principal Anthony Mignella said it is important for the ninth-graders to realize that though they are in a junior high school, they are really high school freshman. “We want them to take ninth grade seriously,” he said, adding that the College Day event is unique and helps to bridge the gap between Central and Memorial.