On Monday October 8th, 2012, I was asked to participate in Shadow Day through the STEP Program. As the day began, myself as well as the other STEP staff met up in the EOP office and were introduced to the students we would have for the day.

Two students I had were Kiah and Antonette, and they were from different high schools. As the day started off, I bought the girls breakfast and we sat in the campus and discussed their expectations for the day. Both girls seemed excited and had many questions for me ranging from actual school work, extracurricular activities, as well as how I spend my time outside of school altogether. I was happy to see them take an interest and I answered their questions to best of my ability.

I am a globalization major and I was a little nervous about taking the girls to my globalization class because I was not sure if they would like or even understand what was going on. Antonette seemed more interested in my class as she took notes along with my class, whereas Kiah was not. In between classes, I also had scheduled adviser appointment which I took both girls to. They got to see the process of signing up for classes as well as me declaring my major and minor officially.

The day overall was a learning experience for me as well as I; I really enjoyed it! Both girls got a chance to tell me about themselves and their ambitions as well as inspirations. I would definitely participate in Shadow Day again, if given the chance =D.

-Kimberly Jones

        On this year's Shadow day,  I had two students come with me to my French 101 Class.  My teacher was very excited and welcomed them.  This is a fun class with constant participation, something that one of the students, McKayla mentioned she enjoyed. Since it was my only class, we had a lot of free time to talk.  We went to Tim Horton's for breakfast where I was able to give them a short tour of the Campus Center and food options we have as college students. 

 The girls, Asia and McKayla, listened and asked questions as I told them about my experience coming away from home: having to meet new people, making sure I eat enough throughout the day, or even setting a standard for myself with class attendance, and studying time.  I also got to gain a better understanding of their personal experiences in high-school and personal goals of their own.  

This Shadow Day was a great experience for these girls to really see a college experience firsthand.  They were also able to communicate openly with questions about the education and living aspects.  I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did, and look forward to seeing them again.  

Kariel Beckford

Shadow Day was a nice experience. I was shadowed by Kalia. She is a senior in high school that is struggling with similar problems I had in my senior year of high school. I was able to help her and comfort her about how college advisors think and how they treat their students, as well as talk about parents and leaving home.

Kalia knows exactly what she wants and she knows what she is doing. Getting to know her and how she thinks reminded me of of when I was in high school.

We attended my analytical chem class, I felt really bad for Kalia. She was lost and towards the end of the class, she was falling asleep. I really wish I had more time with her so she could have experienced a math class. She was very enthusiastic about math, which is why she was paired up with me. I really hope she got a really good idea of how classes are going to be in college, even though we did not attend a math class. I hope I was able to help her and I hope I met her expectations for Shadow Day.

-Pertrice Sennon

On Monday, October 8th 2012, I was fortunate enough to have an Albany High School student shadow me. The student was Chanel and she shadowed me in my natural disaster and and one of my accounting classes. Chanel is interested in accounting, so she enjoyed the class for the most part. Besides going to classes, we also had an opportunity to talk and through our conversation, I learned a lot about her. 

Overall the experience was great. I was allowed to learn about a student I tutored at Albany High School and this experience reminded me of my own journey to college. Talking with Chanel and having her shadow me also made me realize how important it is to give back to the community and how one conversation or experience can shape someone's life.

-Billy Rodriguez

On October 8th, 2012, STEP had a Shadowed Day and I was picked to be shadowed by a student named Niger. For this day Niger accompanied me to my Greek Mythology class and attending a math tutoring session in Topology. though a upper level math class he understood how it related to the basics of shapes and figures. In the Greek Mythology, the class was going over the book called the Iliad.  My student was able to follow the teacher's explanation of the passages in the book. He had background knowledge of the Greek gods based on television portrayal of them. He believed he benefited from the experience because he got a different view of how the god is just a family that argues and fight each other. The Shadow Day gave him a sample of the daily life of a college student.

-Maxwell Larbi