On Thursday May 30, 2024, the College Academy community gathered to celebrate our graduating seniors who will head off to college in the fall. Our annual College Decision Day was held in the main auditorium where students from 9th, 10th and 11th grades gathered to cheer on the seniors as they walked across the stage. A group of 8th graders from the neighborhood also joined in the celebration. TCA underclassmen took part in college trivia and listened to a panel of TCA alumni offer advice for success in college. The College Decision Day tradition not only celebrates senior success but also inspires freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to stay focused on their studies and get ready for college.
TCA Heights reporters Keyana Stewart and Sheryle Narvarez sat down with College Decision Day coordinator and TCA assistant principal Ms. Cadet-Duval. We asked about the goals for this tradition.
TCA Heights: “What are your goals for college decision day?”
Duval: “Our goal for college decision day is College Awareness…we hope that our student body can see that there are different pathways to college, and that you understand that your access to college is not limited. [We think that if] you can hear about different staff members journeys, then maybe that would encourage each and every one of you to make the decision to go to a college or university.”
To get reactions from the underclassmen from the audience TCA Heights reporter Jayleen Torres spoke with 9th grader Jocelyn Ramirez, 10th grader Raymond Rodriguez and 11th grader Reyni Almanzar.
TCA Heights: How did you feel about College Decision Day?
Ramirez: “I felt like it was kind of fun, because you were able to hear about other people’s college experience and than how where the high schoolers decided to go for 4 years of college.”
TCA Heights: What was the inspiring moment during the college decision?
Ramirez: “ The most inspiring moment was when the guest they started saying about college and answering questions, also for some of our PGC leaders when they said that they did it and finished the school year.”
TCA Heights: How will college decision day help you prepare yourself next year as a junior?
Rodriguez: “It will help me prepare myself as a junior to get a little more experience and get the real feeling of getting prepared for college and advice from other juniors.”
TCA Heights: How has your college decision inspired you?
Rodriguez: “It has inspired me to do better in my work and inspired me to keep up my work ethic and get better grades.”
TCA Heights: What advice would you give your future self as a senior?
TCA Heights: How did college decision day influence your thinking before applying to college?
Almanzar: “College decision day gave me a variety of advice and as well to people who is willing to uplift my future.”
TCA Heights: In what way will college decision day is going to inspire you to choose the right college for you?
Almanzar: “The other day I learned that the best university to study criminal justice would be John Jay and it was thankful for the questions that were asked on college decision day.”
TCA Heights: What do you remember from college decision day?
Almanzar: “I remember that day there were inspiring people by giving them gifts in exchange for asking them questions about various universities.”
TCA Heights: What advice would you give to your future senior self?
TCA heights reporter Kayleen Pimentel was able to get responses about their future in college from another underclassman. His name is Renny Urena (9th Grader) who plays for the Trojans JV baseball team and just recently received an award for the Trojans JV boys basketball team.
TCA Heights: What is the most inspiring thing about being able to attend College Decision Day for your future?
Urena: “I get see my close friends enter college and be excited for their future which inspires me to keep going and make it up on that stage one day.”
TCA Heights: How can College Decision Day help you prepare for your future in College?
Urena: “College decision day can be important for my future in College because it can give me a vision on what Colleges can best fit my interests and who I may see attend that college. It can also encourage me to pick up new interests and become more aware of how diverse our career options are.”
TCA Heights: What advice would you give to your college future student self?
Urena: “Don’t let little things come in the way of our end goal. Keep going, stay consistent and make sure you have a somewhat vision of what it is that you want to do in life.”
Finally to get reactions from the upperclassmen who were on stage the TCA Heights reporter Jayleen Torres spoke with 12th grader Kilbely Jimenez who will be attending Buffalo State University and 12th grader Mariela Martinez who will be attending Bronx Community College ( BCC).
TCA Heights: How will college decision day help you make choices in college as a senior?
Jimenez: “Probably like when it comes to financial decisions especially like FASFA or TAP because we talked about a lot about money to help you not go broke in college. I think a lot of the tips and tricks the alumni gave us that day can really help us in college especially like the assign up for FASFA assign up for TAP or like go into your advisories for help on stuff like that.”
TCA Heights: What is one important lesson you learned during college decision day that you can take away with you as a senior?
Jimenez: “To always ask for help because they said that if you do not ask for help your not going to know what you are doing, so I think asking for help all the time and like for anything even like the smallest thing like where the bathroom is at or where is my class at I feel like those are like important things. I feel like, because I am a shy person so asking questions was never my thing.
TCA Heights: Why is it important to gain experience during college decision day when you enter college?
Martinez: ” They are experiences that I can live when I go to college and can help us to have a clear decision when choosing the right college.”
TCA Heights: What is one important lesson you would take during college decision day as a senior?
Martinez: ” Experience because like that we all learn more.”
TCA Heights: What is one thing you liked about college decision day?
Martinez: ” That we took our decision that would help us in the future and from there forward it is our future and we build it ourselves.”
TCA Heights: What advice would you give to yourself as a future college student?
Seniors celebrating their college decision!
