BIG Apple, GIANT Dreams

On April 7th, New York City and the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center hosted the Big Apple College Fair. Sponsored by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the fair was represented by more than 350 colleges from across the country and around the globe.

This year, Let’s Get Ready and the Zone 126-Long Island City High School (LICHS) team collaborated to take a group of 20 juniors to the fair. The event was an opportunity for students to explore a variety of college and career options available to them upon graduation from high school. As rising seniors, everyone from the group was eager to gather more information about some of the schools they hope to apply to next school year. In addition to exploring the college tables, students were able to speak with admissions officers, ask questions, and provide their contact information to schools in which they were particularly interested in.

While some students used the fair to help them hone their interests, others used it to identify programs that will help launch their future career paths. One such student, Julia, aspires to become a veterinarian. She said: “It gave me so many ideas about becoming a vet.” She went on to say that the experience showed her that, “It is possible [for me] to get into a good college.”

During a break from the college fair, students were able to digest all the information they received, along with discussing the things they discovered. Over lunch, students chatted with chaperones Dylan Woloszczuk, the Young Adults Succeed Coordinator for Zone 126, along with Fabiha Khan and Tasfia Alam, Site Directors for this year’s Let’s Get Ready program, about their college application experiences. The student’s questions were a clear indication of their goals and objectives but more importantly their hopes and dreams of what they want from their college experience