BC grads return for a panel discussion with high schoolers
If you could go back to your high school self and deliver a message, what would it be?
Odds are most of us would have some sagely advice, even after just a few years. That was the idea behind a recent forum at the Bethlehem Central High School entitled Life After BC and organized by Bethlehem Opportunities Unlimited. Nine BC graduates, mostly recently returning to town from college, held a panel discussion to talk to high schoolers about life in college and the application process Tuesday, May 24.
Questions covered a wide range of topics but there was one overarching theme from all the college students: don’t stress out.
`You don’t really have to know what you’re doing at the beginning of freshman year,` advised Sarah Rabinow, a student at the College of St. Rose.
That can be an important message. The last few years of high school usually feature mounting pressure on teens to bolster their academic and extracurricular resumes, write application essays, narrow in on a possible career path and select a few schools out of a pool of thousands. It’s no easy task, but as noted by Chris McGinn, a SUNY Geneseo student, the competitive atmosphere of the college search dissolves come freshman year.
`Once you’re at the school, you’re all in the same place and no one cares,` he said.
BC High School junior Doris Frasca said she appreciated the candidness of the panelists. After wading through a sea of marketing materials it was nice to hear some honest opinions, she said.
`A lot of the time on college tours you don’t really get that,` she said.
BOU’s Karen Kissinger said the event came together nicely, and she would love to see it become an annual forum.
`I think it went really well. I think the kids got some ideas about putting the process of senior year in perspective…I think we as parents forget how stressful it is,` she said.
Kissinger added she’d like to see a more diverse panel next time around, perhaps including graduates who chose to enter the workforce or join the military.
This year’s panel did include a student who decided to take a gap year. Lincoln Frasca, who will be attending the University of Vermont in the fall, said it was a good decision for him and advised students to make decisions they’re comfortable with, not just what is expected of them.
`It’s important to find what you’re passionate about,` he said. `This is about you.`
Hudson Valley Community College student Raeann Kitchen told students the best way to shop for a college isn’t online or in a catalog.
`Visit as much as possible,` she said. `See how the atmosphere is. You can tell a lot by being there a whole day.`
The other panelists were Packy Carroll, Hobart William Smith College; Dan Krzkowski, University at Albany; Julie Landrigan, Central College (Pella, Iowa); Lauren Manning, Connecticut College; and Colleen O’Conner, Duke University.
Students who would be interested in joining a panel next year, or anyone interested in getting involved with Bethlehem Opportunities Unlimited, can contact Kissinger at [email protected]. “
