Contact: David Mathis

798-5908

Jessica Basi
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Eannace: ‘Ready, Set, College!’
Students Make Outstanding Progress

Student projects and speakers took center stage as about 50 Oneida County students enrolled in the "Ready, Set, College!" program at Mohawk Valley Community College celebrated the end of their summer session on Friday, Aug. 10 in the Alumni College Center at MVCC.

"One of the greatest assets of our area is our young people. Through this program, we are showing these students that they have the potential to go on to college and take hold of the great career opportunities in the Mohawk Valley," said Oneida County Executive Ralph J. Eannace, Jr. "The work these young people have done this summer, and the progress they have made, are both outstanding. They are our future."

"Despite that fact that you are still in high school, you are already achievers. Here, today, we have students who have lived through a war in Bosnia, poverty here in Utica, and faced dozens of challenges most of us adults can’t possibly imagine," Workforce Investment Board Executive Director John Holt told the students. "Based on nothing more than everything you’ve overcome to get this far, I know you can make it further – out of high school, on to college and then into the kind of job where you can have a good income, enjoy all the great things we have in the Mohawk Valley and become leaders in the community and in whatever careers you choose."

"Great opportunities exist, and you are already a step ahead of a lot of your competition to take advantage of them," Holt said. "You’ve already taken a college-level course this summer. This campus has been the starting place for thousands of people who battled war, poverty and prejudice to make their way to the top. You can too."

"Sometimes I am asked what is so special about the Mohawk Valley," said Holt, who leads the region’s "Call Mohawk Valley Home" effort. "I wish they could be here today. Because when I look at you, I’m not just happy to call the Mohawk Valley my home. I’m proud. Proud of all the people who are working with you to help you on your way; proud of every person who is determined to make the future brighter than the past; and proud of every one of you."

Other speakers at the ceremony included students Dionnarae Jones, Lashina Washington and Adem Kudic; Denise DiGiorgio, Vice President, MVCC Student Services; and Delores Caruso, Program Director of the Millennium Project.

"A lot of people have done things to help us," Jones said. "We have this program, we have opportunities. I want to say thank you to all the people who have helped; even people from the country who have supported these things even though they help city kids. It’s important to help anyone who needs help."

"The goal of ‘Ready, Set College!’ is to help high school students look ahead to the future, so they can understand how much they will benefit from completing high school and going on to college," said Mohawk Valley Community College President Michael Schafer. "This ceremony is a time to celebrate another step on their journey to a bright future."

Oneida County Workforce Development Director David Mathis said the ceremony is the end of the summer program, but not of the year-round program. "‘Ready, Set, College!’ helps these students all year with mentoring and other support. The summer program has been one phase of their progress. Another one will begin when they return to school next month."

"Ready, Set, College!" is a Mohawk Valley Community College program supported by Oneida County and working in cooperation with area school districts in which high school students receive support and mentorship during the school year as well as enrichment during the summer. This year, high school juniors in "Ready, Set, College!" are taking a college-level psychology course in addition to their other courses.