Program News 2005
A Taste of College Life
Twenty-five young people from Good Shepherd Services’ foster boarding home, residential, and community-based programs recently participated in our annual college retreat, which was held from June 2 through June 5 on the campus of the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz. A Good Shepherd tradition for many years, the retreat brings together young people from various programs across the agency who will be applying to colleges soon. While many of the participants did not know each other before the retreat, they are united by challenging backgrounds, and are often the first in their family to pursue post-secondary education. The retreat offers them concrete assistance in navigating the complicated application process as well as a chance to share the experience with people in similar situations.
The main focus is working on college application essays in small groups. Each group has a writing coach, a Good Shepherd staffer, and a former retreat participant assisting with the process. “This helped a lot with my essay,” one participant said later. “If not for my writing coach, I don’t know how my essay would have turned out,” agreed another. Each student read an excerpt from their essay at a banquet on the final night of the retreat.
The SUNY New Paltz faculty and staff were also on hand to welcome our young people and share their expertise regarding application. The Associate Vice-President for Student Affairs greeted the retreat participants on their first day, encouraging them to ‘try on’ the campus, to actually visualize themselves as students over the course of the weekend, and an informative presentation regarding financial aid and EOP matters was held at a later point.
Perhaps the highlight of this year’s retreat was Alumni Evening, where the young people had a chance to ask former retreat participants questions about all aspects of college life. Talking with retreat alumni who are now in college or have recently graduated was an excellent way for the participants to gain a better understanding of the college experience, and the alumni also served as wonderful role models. “This is an amazing group of young adults,’ says Bonnie Genevich, Good Shepherd Services Division Director, “They know exactly how to connect with participants on the retreat, know when to step in and exert leadership and when to drop back.”
The culminating event was a dance following the banquet on Saturday night that allowed the participants to release the tension of the pressure to complete an essay by banquet time, and to celebrate the accomplishment. The next morning, following a closing circle where each participant signed the other’s retreat t-shirts, the twenty-five participants returned to the city, each now in possession of an essay suitable for college applications, and a much better understanding of the college experience. Asked if the retreat helped with the essay writing, one participant responded, “Yes, you had the support from others, and the love. Having people there to help you is good. I LOVE THIS TRIP.”
July 11, 2005
