The College Experience has the privilege of working with capable adults who surprise and enthrall us every day with their abilities. These skills are even more apparent long after they graduate from the program. We are consistently impressed when working with those who continue under the guidance of Living Resources programs that support employment, independent living, and recreational activities.
Furthermore, all alumni have the option of being part of the Alumni Activities Club that is supervised by one of our staff members but led entirely by the alumni who suggest activities and assist with planning them. Staff personally transport alumni for many activities that are beyond the Capital Region, although we still attempt to show the alumni that they have the option of going on these adventures anytime they want by utilizing the bus system and other forms of transportation. On that note, we all purchased tickets for Yankee Trails to make this activity come to fruition.
On Saturday, January 12, 2019 everybody forced themselves out of bed at an extremely early hour to travel to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. (Amy set the record by waking up at 3:00 AM!) They were picked up by a staff member in two separate groups at 5:30 AM and 6:00 AM to make a 6:45 AM departure time with the Yankee Trails bus company at Crossgates Commons. Every single student was ready either early or on-time and followed the same standards for punctuality when the bus returned to collect all the passengers at the Foxwoods bus lobby. The bus driver warned everybody that he could not and would not wait for anybody who was late and explained the bus would be leaving at 6:00 PM sharp. In the spirit of “early is on-time” we all agreed to pretend that the bus would be leaving at 5:45 PM sharp and aim to reach the bus terminal no later than 5:30 PM.
During the visit the alumni explored the enormous casino independently with staff being only a phone call away in case assistance was needed or they desired staff to be a part of some of their activities. After nearly a full day of exploring the luxury of this entertainment mecca and doing some light gambling, we were left with a day full of beautiful memories. Even though the day was built around fun, it still employed plenty of the lessons learned throughout the two years as a College Experience student pertaining to time management and being responsible with one’s finances. It was explained to the students that even though it is possible to leave the casino with more than we walked in with once in a while, we are much more likely to lose. Any money we gamble with should be minimal and for the sake of entertainment!
We have a lot more trips planned with the Alumni Activities Club including possibly visiting the new attraction opening in the Catskills called the Kartrite Resort and Indoor Waterpark.
What comes after graduation? Many College Experience students, in fact most, choose to remain in Albany. They maintain friendships with their fellow and former graduates, form romantic partnerships, and some get married.