AVID students at WPHS bring futures into focus at College & Career Fair

Hundreds of White Plains High School students mapped out their futures Friday during the annual AVID College & Career Fair, a bustling showcase of college dreams, career ambitions and real-world life skills.

From presentations on universities, nursing and pediatrics to investing, housing and political science, students in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program spent months researching their topics before presenting them to classmates and visiting middle school students.

“This is an annual event that we started about seven or eight years ago for ninth- and 10th-grade students,” said Doug Cronk, Coordinator of English, 7-12 and AVID District Director. “They research colleges and careers. And then they gather and distill that information as presentations for fellow students.”

The fair featured colorful displays packed with college brochures, career facts, giveaways and school merchandise gathered through outreach efforts by students themselves. Rising eighth-grade AVID students also attended, getting an early glimpse into the opportunities that await them at WPHS.

“You see all the college swag, so they reach out to communicate with colleges, get information back,” Mr. Cronk said. “The students do the presenting, they do a wonderful job.”

In recent years, the program has expanded beyond college and career exploration. He said 11th-graders now also participate in a Life Skills Symposium focused on practical topics students will face as adults.

Among those presenters was junior Camila Delgado, whose project focused on finding quality housing.

“I chose this because I know once high school hits, people tend to start planning about the future,” Camila said. “People should look at things like the sizing, where exactly they want to live, how many rooms there are, because that determines the price and the rent. A lot goes into it.”

Nearby, junior Helen Maravilla used chocolate coins, fake cash and a laptop displaying stock information to teach visitors about investing and financial planning.

“It’s important for your future,” Helen said. “If you start investing now, then in the future you can buy your house, your car, pay for college — all of those things.”

Many students said the projects deepened their understanding of careers they hope to pursue.

Sophomores Maria Perez and Rosannny Duran spent nearly two months preparing a presentation on labor and delivery nursing and neonatal intensive care.

“We worked really hard,” Maria said. “We had to paint the board, print everything out, find the information. It really opened our minds more to information on our career.”

Rosanny said the research helped her better understand the educational path required for careers in healthcare.

“I learned a lot about the careers and what I wanted to do, and specifically what goes into actually getting there,” she said. “It’s a long, long process.”

Sophomore Salome Duque, whose project focused on becoming an ultrasound technician, took her research a step further by contacting White Plains Hospital for information and materials.

“They actually reached back out to me. They sent me stress toys, tissues, pill boxes and other goodies. I felt professional,” Salome said, adding that hospital staff even invited her to visit and tour the office.

“It was really, really nice,” she said.

Ninth-graders Mariapaz Gutierrez and Gabriella Moscoso explored New York University, focusing on its global and international law and political science offerings.

“We decided to do NYU because they offer global and international law and political science, and those are careers I would like to major in,” Mariapaz said.

Gabriella said the project required extensive research.

“It was a lot of work,” she said. “We looked at school websites and articles and their main page online.”

For sophomore Dayana Munoz, whose project centered on pediatrics, the topic reflected a longtime personal interest.

“It’s been one of my main focuses since I was younger,” Dayana said. “Putting it all together was definitely a challenge.”

As students circulated among the displays, asking probing questions and collecting valuable information, the event highlighted not only future careers and colleges, but also the communication skills and preparation AVID students are developing along the way.