Program introduces local high school students to campus

Students and administrators participating in the Sophomore Year Experience proved that it’s never too early ‘ or too late ‘ to be thinking about college.

More than 30 Colgate sophomores ushered the Hamilton Central School sophomore class to campus Friday afternoon for lunch in Frank Dining Hall and informal talks with assistant dean of admission Devon Skerritt and assistant professor of psychology Spencer Kelly in a program titled ‘Sophomore to Sophomore.’

It was a chance for Colgate sophomores to expose the HCS students to college life, and to answer questions that spanned the usual ‘how much homework is there’ to specifics such as pursuing a certain major.

Kim Taylor-Goodsill, program assistant for Sophomore Year Experience, had been brainstorming ways to better link the HCS and Colgate communities.  A former HCS teacher, Taylor-Goodsill knew all too well that some students were not considering college and that many had never stepped foot on Colgate’s campus. She was interested in organizing a program for the Hamilton students that would inform them about college life in general, not just life at Colgate. 

Liz Van Der Mandele, a senior at HCS, had similar ideas. She said sophomore year is important for students to start thinking about the two years ahead in terms of college preparedness.  She wanted to motivate students to think about college, and encourage them to think about the implications their grades might have on their options.

Van Der Mandele met with Principal Dana Chapman to review ideas and a proposed itinerary for the afternoon at Colgate.  She also met with the student council and faculty adviser.

‘It’s been really fun.  I like getting involved and working with other people,’ she said, unfazed that she couldn’t reap the benefits in the same way as the sophomore recipients.

Her goal, she said, was simply to get students to think about college, something that is weighing heavily on her mind these days.

Taylor-Goodsill worked specifically with four Colgate sophomores Mary Acoymo, Kristin Kim, Sian-Pierre Regis, and Leslie Alba on planning events and recruiting Colgate sophomores to take part in the program.

The response from Colgate students, Taylor-Goodsill said, was overwhelming.  Dozens of sophomores signed up for the afternoon.

Taylor-Goodsill said in speaking with Colgate sophomores this year about their rapport with the Hamilton community, many said that they wanted to make a more concrete connection with local high school students.  Colgate students remarked that they were overwhelmed by the college process and could have benefited from unbiased opinions from someone similar in age. Taylor-Goodsill agreed.

The group was afraid many HCS students viewed Colgate as a ‘gilded palace,’ Acoymo said.  The program was intended to reverse those feelings.

Hamilton school administrators agreed to let the sophomore class leave school early Friday to spend some time on Colgate’s campus. The two groups met in Frank at 12:45 p.m. and enjoyed lunch and a brief performance by the Swinging ‘Gates, Colgate’s all-female a capella group.

Skerritt spoke to the group next, encouraging them to think about the future.  It doesn’t matter where you want to go to college, he said, it just matters that you think about wanting to go at all.  He challenged students to find a mentor that could guide them in their next few years of high school.  He urged students to take advantage of the resources at Colgate and to become members of the Colgate community.

The group then headed over to Persson Auditorium to listen to Kelly talk about how he got to where he is today.  Candid and witty, Kelly had many of the HCS students riveted, explaining to them that the straight path toward success isn’t necessarily the right one.

Kelly drew on two themes: encouraging students to experience as much as you can, and then using those experiences for action.

He relayed his own experiences, which involved using his Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to his advantage in high school, channeling the extra energy into improving his grades.  His years at Washington University in St. Louis as a Japanese history major, he said, had no bearing on his present career; he studied those courses purely out of interest.  He also pursued a minor in psychology.

The most challenging thing, he said, was taking a step back and viewing his past four years’ worth of experiences and deciding on a course of action.

‘Finding out about college is the same as finding out about life.  You have to have all these experiences, and then you have to act on them,’ he told students.

The program was an immense success, judging by how easily the HCS students and Colgate sophomores interacted during lunch, and the interest the high school students showed during the talks.  Colgate sophomores eagerly exchanged e-mail addresses with the students.

‘A lot of (HCS) people made connections and saw a lot of different sides of Colgate.  I think many of them were surprised at how welcoming we were,’ said Acoymo.

‘I think the personal connections really affected the HCS and Colgate students,’ added Kim. ‘I think it really helped break the barrier between Colgate and HCS.’

Taylor-Goodsill was enthusiastic about the program, and looks forward to hosting more.

‘For the Colgate students, seeing themselves as examples was really great for them.  These HCS kids look up to them as role models, as smart, well-spoken, but really cool guys and girls,’ she said.

The Sophomore to Sophomore program will not be a weekly occurrence, but the Colgate students who organized Friday’s gathering will reconvene later in the month to plan future events.  They are, however, openly encouraging HCS students to take advantage of the events on campus.

And, perhaps, to check out an event with one of the many sophomores they met on Friday.