On Friday, April 17th, College EDge, a Yeshiva University started and managed not-for-profit organization devoted to helping underrepresented public high school students prepare for higher education, hosted their Fifth Annual Seminar and Fair Day (SF5) on the Wilf Campus.
Hundreds of high school students from across New York City attended the event to learn how to navigate the college application process and how to make the most of their college experience. Throughout the day, the students heard from various speakers, including Mr. Rafael Quiles of Hostos Community College, Ms. Lolita Wood-Hill of Yeshiva University, and New York City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. After the students enjoyed a pizza lunch with College EDge mentors, who are current Yeshiva University students, they attended a series of workshops that covered how to apply for financial aid, write personal statements, and balance life in college. At the end of the day, the students had the opportunity to interact with representatives from seventeen different colleges from all over the state, including SUNY Maritime, College of Mount Saint Vincent, NYU, New York Institute of Technology, Columbia, and Mercy College.
The impact that SF5 made on the close to 250 high school students that attended the event is evident: just ask Eduardo V., a student at the George Washington YABC in Washington Heights. According to Eduardo, SF5 was tremendously beneficial for him: “Today has opened my eyes because before this I wasn’t really thinking about college. I was actually going to go straight to the Marines… [My guidance counselor] gave me the choice to show up today and look at different colleges and figure out what I actually want to do with my life instead of just going out there and doing combat because that’s exactly what I was going to do. I actually looked at a lot of colleges that have what I want to do with my life like engineering.” According to Mr. Veloz, the guidance counselor at the George Washington YABC, Eduardo came into his office a few days after the fair to speak with him about applying to different colleges and ensuring that all his financial aid papers were filled out.
According to Michal Schechter, SCW ’15, who serves as Vice President of Events and Communications for College EDge, events such as SF5 are integral to high school students because: “These students want to succeed, have careers, and become financially stable. They are willing to work very hard, but they also need support and advice, just like we did. We are giving them the opportunity to go to college and realize their dreams. That is what College EDge is about.”
Stephanie B., who also attends the George Washington YABC, explained how much SF5, and especially the college fair, meant to her: “All of us will be applying to college this coming fall. Today is important for us because we want to learn about what schools are out there. College EDge is helping to get us excited for the future and applying to college.”
In a similar vein, Delancy C., a student at the Bronx Community High School, shared what she gained from SF5. “Today gave me the confidence I need to go forward with my future, accomplish my goals, and never give up!”
The current President of College EDge, Elianne Neuman, SCW ’16, noted that SF5 was beneficial for not only the high school students who attended the event, but also the Board members who arranged it: “The College EDge Board put in a tremendous amount of time and effort into organizing SF5—whether it was recruiting colleges and high schools to come to the event, coordinating the workshops and speakers, or arranging the registration tables. During the final weeks before SF5, we were all a bit overwhelmed by everything that still needed to get done. But, on the day of the event, when we saw the high school students engaging with the mentors, enjoying the workshops, and speaking with representatives from colleges from all over the state, I think everyone on the Board recognized that their hard work was truly worth it.”
With over one hundred mentors and a board of close to twenty people, all of who are current Yeshiva University students, College EDge has impacted the lives of thousands high school students across New York City since it was founded at YU five years ago.
Founder and CEO of College EDge, Yonah Rubin, YC ’12, who is currently in his third year at Columbia University Medical School, commented on College EDge’s accomplishments. “The key to our success is our outstanding inter-board relationships. Like every organization, we have a logistically necessary technical hierarchy, but everyone is made to feel like an equal player…We collect feedback and respond quickly.” According to Rubin, a major component of College EDge’s success is its flexibility—not just in terms of how its Board is structured, but also with regards to how it sustains its relationships with local high schools: “We don’t create cookie cutter events and ask high schools to fit in, but instead ask the high schools what they need and mold our programming to fill that gap.”
Neuman similarly asserted that College EDge’s strength is its ability to cater to local schools: “We invited a lot of high schools that have never previously participated in College EDge programming to SF5. After the event, a number of these schools approached our Board, seeking to establish a more permanent relationship with our organization. Certainly, one of the most pressing goals for the YU branch of College EDge is to continue cultivating our connection with these schools, and to coordinate regular programming with them.”
As College Edge continues to expand, they are making sure not to lose sight of their ultimate goal: providing students with the programming that they need to help them succeed in higher education, be it college or college alternatives.