SUNY Westchester Community College offers warm welcome to SWBOCES seniors
Southern Westchester BOCES students from Rye Lake Campus Middle-High School toured Westchester Community College, gaining a students-eye perspective on courses and programs as well as support services and amenities at the sprawling campus.
Sa'Maya Hodges Sanchez and Jamiyah Oliver have already applied to and been accepted by the college. They were impressed by what they saw and are eager for the next chapter in their educational journey.
“We’re a community of support,” said Stephanie Annunziata, a professor and counselor at the Valhalla campus, who led the tour.
Both students are enrolled in Career and Technical Education Programs at Southern Westchester BOCES’ Career Services campus, Jamiyah in Cosmetology and Samaya in Culinary Arts. Each has additional college ambitions. Jamiyah plans to study nursing, while Samaya, a self-described writer, eyes business management.
This was their first campus visit, and they liked what they saw, particularly in Chef Philip McGrath’s Nutrition class, where students in a professional kitchen learn not only how to prepare and serve multi-ethnic dishes but also study the history and global implications of various ingredients or the cultures from which the dishes originate. It was a clear sign that college offers new perspectives and wider learning opportunities.
The tour began at the college’s Gateway Center where Dean Martinez Lopez of the School of Business and Professional Careers led the group through the Cybersecurity Center. Next, they met President of the College Dr. Belinda Miles at Hartford Hall. Subsequent stops included the Science Building, classroom spaces, the library, and the Physical Education Building before finishing with lunch in Chef McGrath’s kitchen.
Notably, in the Science Building, the visitors were amazed to see the Health Sciences Simulation Center for Inter-professional Education. The state-of-the art hospital simulation lab vastly improves student-learning outcomes by providing supervised practice and calibration of skills and competencies prior to placement in a clinical facility.
SWBOCES Counselor Cristina Tompkins, who accompanied the tour, expressed thanks to those who took the time to welcome the students on their visit.
“Our students left feeling more confident about their decision to begin in the fall, and they were reassured to see that they will continue to receive the same level of support they’ve valued throughout high school,” Ms. Tompkins said.