The College Experience would like to offer our sincere congratulatory wishes to those graduating students who are going into the Transitions Program under the guidance of Suzanne Bernier and the support of their former instructors who are rooting for their success.

On the date of Thursday, July 14th, 2022 the incoming alumni received a visit from Jesse Saperstein who is the Media and Activities Liaison. Jesse is the Media and Activities Liaison of our program. Some of his roles include working with the alumni on their volunteer assignments and planning their recreational activities. Jesse presented two Power Points pertaining to the options for volunteer work as well as realistic expectations for their activities. Perhaps it is time to explain the contraption he is extending in the direction of the brand-new alumni. It is a litter claw capable of picking up fine objects such as cigarette butts and even a dime. One of his passions is litter collection and beautifying natural landscapes plagued by human refuse. Jesse’s passion for litter collection began during a trip to Wildwood Crest, NJ years ago when his heart was broken after seeing his childhood beach contaminated by litter. One of the alumni in the photograph named, Jordann Bastiani has recently expressed a passion for collecting litter and will hopefully be working with Jesse in the near future to target certain sites in Albany that have been neglected.

Photographs of past alumni adventures to places such as Splashdown Beach and Water Park as well as Lake George were displayed on the Power Point. It is true that not every activity idea is practical due to distance, cost, and other factors beyond our control. But every effort is made to ensure that these ideas have a fighting chance to come to fruition, however. We at least try to explore these possibilities to see what the future may hold. Jesse explained a little bit about the expectations with volunteering and how it must be taken seriously as though it is an actual paid position. Volunteering is good practice for the real thing and learning lessons before it is going to cost someone dearly in the adult world. The alumni have made valuable contributions at places such as the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and the local chapter of the American Red Cross.

Featured from left to right in the first photograph are Michael Mortensen; Bobby Czubay; Jordann Bastiani; and Jesse Saperstein. We are looking forward to many more adventures with the Alumni Activities Club with the new company of graduates in addition to seeing what they are going to contribute to the local community. Included are also photos from the Power Points displayed for the class.