Helping students transition from high school to college
Advisory Group
Small Steps Go Places gives students who participate in our program the opportunity to develop leadership skills by joining the SSGP Advisory Group. Our current group members are
Hi, I’m Allyson Morales. I just graduated from University of Michigan with a major in Cognitive Science and a minor in Crime & Justice.` As a first-generation college student, the transition from a rural high school {350 students total} to UM {20,000} was intimidating to say the least. I went from knowing everyone’s name to having no idea who I was sharing a room with. I’d have never found myself with an amazing friend group and this exciting opportunity if I never forced myself out of my shell. My advice to my younger self is “don’t be afraid to try new things, you’re capable of succeeding at a large university.”
Hi, I’m Renggeng Zheng. I’m a rising senior at Stuyvesant High School. A challenge I’ve faced in my college application process is information and resource availability. I greatly value the potential takeaways because I’m confident about my engagement with the process if I have the right information. I’ve always had a passion for games with lots of strategy and role play, specifically board games and Dungeons and Dragons. A piece of advice I would give to my younger self is choose activities you enjoy so they don’t become a draining experience.Hh
Hello, I’m Emma Brannigan. I’m a rising senior at Saint Barnabas High School in the Bronx, New York. I’m a scholar athlete on the varsity basketball team and an honor student. Junior year can feel very rushed and stressful, and thankfully my senior friends have taken it upon themselves to guide me. With their help, I’ve realized it’s never to early to start preparing to go to college. This year has been challenging because we’ve had Hybrid or Virtual Classes. I feel that my school, as well as other high schools, should provide more face to face meetings with the students, even if they’re virtual. This would help juniors feel more prepared and less stressed with the college process. My major struggle with the college process was that I didn’t know when to start. My guidance counselor encouraged me to register for open houses and my first SAT. My advice to my younger self is reach out to your guidance counselor at the beginning of your junior year, early communication with your guidance counselor will help you feel prepared in the long run.
Hi, I’m Daniel Mascola. I’m a rising junior at Fordham University in the Bronx and am majoring in Psychology and minoring in Business. As a transfer student, I’ve had to adapt to a new environment while still being a student. Change is always scary at first, but after moving around so much growing up, I learned to embrace every new opportunity with open arms. Having to say good bye to old friends and be just as excited to make new ones isn’t easy, but I wouldn’t trade the world for all the people I’ve met, places I’ve been, and experiences I’ve had. My advice to my younger self is don’t listen to people when they tell you to “never change.” Those people don’t know what you are capable of and by making changes, you can do show your strengths to yourself and the rest of the world.