Schenectady – Union College admissions counselor Genevieve Mbamalu was born in Nigeria and moved to New York City in June 1996, when she was 16 years old.
She is now a 22-year-old Union College graduate who plans to pursue a graduate degree in international health at Boston University this fall. On Saturday, Mbamalu was well into her duties as mentor at Camp College that began the day before by welcoming a group of four New York City high school students.
The students are part of a group of 60 who are on campus this weekend for a three-day camp to learn about the college experience.
The young college hopefuls were silent when they first arrived, Mbamalu said. But that changed when she told them she grad uate d fro m A. P hilip Randolph Campus High School in Harlem. The common experience in a New York City school jumpstarted the conversation, she said.
“I went to Union College and can provide an example that really clicks with those girls,” Mbamalu said.
Iris Callender was a part of the crew Mbamalu met at the bus station. She is a 15-year-old grade 10 student at Frederick Douglass Academy in New York. If she isn't admitted to Columbia University, Callender said she plans to come to Union in a few years.
“When I was like 5 or 6, my mother bugged me about understanding the world,” Callender said.
Since then, she has found an interest in studying law and music. And just before lunch on Saturday Callender walked into the classroom of Union College political science professor Richard Fox for a simulated course on constitutional law.
The course was one of several that Callender and her fellow campers attended throughout the day. Mbamalu said the goal of the weekend is to show students college life and provide them with tips on gaining acceptance into the college of their choice.
Half of the campers are from the Capital Region and the other half are from the New York City area. All are either minority students or from a poor school district, or are potentially the first college graduate in their family.
“Camp College lets students 'try on' college,” said Susan Nesbitt Perez, who works for the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities. “[College] graduates earn more, become active citizens and have a chance to build lifelong friendships.”
This is the fourth year the event has been held at Union College. Its success has spawned similar weekend camp programs at Niagara University and Manhattan College. The programs are funded though federal and state grants, as well as by donations from local corporations.
The students will hear from New York state Assembly members Denny Farrell, D-Manhattan, and Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, at 10:30 a.m. today at the Nott Memorial.