STEAM holds its annual Mini College Fair Week

The Mount Vernon STEAM Academy held its Mini College Fair Week featuring universities and programs nationwide that visited and introduced themselves to students. 

“We are doing our annual Mini College Fair Week where we have different colleges represent every day of the week for our students,” said Sabrina Velez, a guidance counselor at STEAM. “It’s exposure for our sophomores, juniors and seniors to different colleges inside and outside of the area. We like to invite underclassmen as well as our seniors so that they can have the projected GPA that they need for advancement and figure out what is available for them.” 

The college fair comprised different ways for students to set themselves up for success during their college application process. On Monday, November 4, 2024, STEAM students went through a “City University of New York (CUNY) Central” workshop, an introductory course to the CUNY system, and a lesson on the different programs and application processes for different schools.

“The college fair has been really helpful, particularly for seniors,” said Kaylin Vidaurre, a senior at the STEAM Academy. “It gives us a lot of options of what schools can be targets, what schools can be safeties, or reaches. It gives us a lot of opportunities to know what to put into our common app as well.”

During the rest of the week, students enjoyed three days of meeting and mingling with faculty from different colleges and learning about scholarships, social programs and career paths. Throughout the week, different representatives from programs such as St. Thomas Aquinas College, the United States Army, and St. John’s University rotated through the library. Scholarship committees such as the PTSA Scholarship Committee were also in attendance to educate students on different aid options. 

Both students and alumni of STEAM can attest to the importance of holding college fairs and putting students in contact with colleges. 2022 STEAM graduate Laila Issa, attended College Fair week as an admissions representative for CUNY School of Medicine to teach students about the seven-year Doctor of Medicine program that she is currently enrolled in. With the help of her high school guidance counselor, she found the perfect program for herself and hopes to help other students find theirs. 

“It feels nostalgic to come back to my high school. I only graduated two years ago but coming back and seeing familiar faces, it's like I am coming back and helping the place I grew up in,” said Laila. “STEAM helped orient me towards the STEM and medical fields. My counselor was very helpful in helping me look for medical-focused colleges, and that’s how I came across the Sophie Davis Biomedical Education program.”