Hello it's Estefani. I am extremely lucky to be here at Marist College. The campus is extremely beautiful. I knew college would be hard, but I did not know it would be this hard at times. Being here made me realize how much you have to manage your time because if you stay up too late you'll be sleeping in class or on trips. I knew I wanted to do something in the criminal justice field someday, but I did not know I would fall in deep love with it. Coming to Marist made me realize you can achieve anything and have fun at the same time. My professors are AMAZING. They always help me out with everything and they also create a bond with you at the same time. All I have to say is thank you to everyone and I love Marist !!!

This summer I attended a program called NYU College Access Leadership Summer Institute, which was a four day program at New York University. BOY, was it a life changing experience! At the program, I worked with people from all over the city. I even worked with people from New Jersey. Meeting all these new people was my favorite part of the program, but besides that, I learned exactlly how to apply for college, I learned what I needed to get into college, and I even got a head start on writing my college essay. This program was so beneficial to my life because the advisors gave me the tools that I will need in the future when applying to college, such as websites with scholarship oppurtunities, and much more. Looking back now, I wish the program was more than just four days because I know there is so much more that I have to learn. The most important thing I learned was that you should never doubt yourself when applying to college. You should never use "poverty" as an excuse for not applying to college. College is the begging of the rest of your life. College is where I see myself in the next few years, and I plan on being very successful .

Summer time in the Botanical Garden is different compared to when school was in session. I picked up a new shift so now I work 2 days out of the week. We have new Explainers, which I'm happy about because now I don't feel like I'm the new person. This week I showed the new Explainers what to do at each station. I also taught them facts they should know about pollination. Everyone I met is super nice and eager to learn like I do. Learning at the Botanical Garden does not end.

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) is going great this summer. It has been a great experience to come to SEO daily and come together with SEO friends instead of just on Saturdays, like during the school year. We have been able to go to different halls here at NYU Law. Yesterday, we all went to a movie theatre to watch Transformers. Just last week on Thursday, all of us at SEO went to a college fair down at Columbia University and gathered a lot of information about college. We've read short stories, done math, we're working on a persuasive essay, and more. We've gotten to meet different people in SEO as well. Overall, SEO has been a good experience so far and it has been going by so quickly. It'll be over next week Friday. I'm looking forward to SEO throughout the school year.

My experience with Teen Battle Chef has been going really well. I thought it would be a good idea to take it a step further after I completed the program in December, so I applied to become an intern for teen battle chef. Being an intern is exciting. I met new incredible people. This helped me open up since I can be a really shy person. As a tbc intern, it's not always about cooking, but knowing  different methods for how to cook healthy food, and how we can influence others to do the same. My site is located at a youth market in Queens, NY. Other interns work at a restaurant, or even a garden. I don't look at this internship as a job because it's something I like to do and something I enjoy being in. I am really glad I was accepted into this opportunity because I am the only one in my school doing this for the first time, and most definitely not the last.

This is Denisse. Marist is going really great! Today we met the governor and the senator and we got to take pictures with them that you can see on the Marist website. We got to shoot laser pistols that were made by the police using a real gun. It was really fun.

The campus is really beautiful except it's really cold in the mornings and nights. I made a lot of new friends from a lot of different places like texas, LA, and other cool places. Can't wait to tell you more!

This is Yenifer, and I just started going to a workshop that's called Mind the Gap. So far, We had to bring an object that's really important to you and that you know the best. It also needs to have a story behind it. I chose a band-aid, which is a long story. I met a lot of elderly people and they're not as bad as I thought they were going to be. They are funny and know how to connect with teenagers. The only thing we did so far is trying to get to know one another and we also did a lot of talking. I had fun and I liked it because they were so warm and I was not scared to share; I asked a lot of questions. I am grateful for this opportunity. Now I don't have to be bored all summer long ( :

My name is Marc and I am 15 years old and a rising 10th grader at MHVP. I have been going to The Point for music class and it has been fun so far. I met the band and the first thing I though was: Awesome! When I got there, they were already playing and they were really good. After they stopped they asked me what I wanted to play and I said the drums. Since I have been there, I have learned a couple of drum beats and I have also learned how to keep track of the beat, it but I mostly have fun learning. I can't wait to go back and keep practicing to be a real drummer.