In an effort to take the learning experience out into the community as much as possible, our adjunct professor Michelle Brown arranged a field trip to the Casparus F. Pruyn House located in Latham, NY, a short time ago as our last field trip of the semester for the Local History class. All semester long, students have been learning about the rich history of Albany created by Dutch settlers that we do not usually see while being saturated with modern conveniences such as smartphones.
This home was added on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and was built between 1824 and 1836. Casparus F. Pruyn was the rent collection agent for Stephen Van Rensselaer who helped colonize Albany during its earliest years. The halls of the Pruyn House are now decked with Christmas glory thanks to the hard work of the staff. The theme this year happened to be Nutcrackers with plenty of them left and right!
While most young people would consider a vinyl record player to be ancient, they have never seen a music box patented in the middle of the nineteenth century that is one of the relics in the house that has survived like a trusted time capsule.
We all thank Professor Michelle Brown for her leadership all semester and look forward to learning more from her in the future!
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.