The Road to Oneonta:
More than 100 Family and Consumer Sciences students from three downstate high schools visited campus April 18-19 to get a glimpse of how the courses they are taking for college credit through SUNY Oneonta could be the first step on the road to a bachelor’s degree.
During each visit, the students attended an Admissions presentation, took a campus tour, ate lunch in the dining hall and got an in-depth look at some of SUNY Oneonta’s Human Ecology programs. This was the first time the university has hosted College in High School students on campus.
“I appreciate all the faculty, staff and students who came together to give our College in High School students a great experience,” said Rebecca Lynch, associate director of continuing education and College in High School program coordinator. “Based on the success of these events, we hope to host additional visits featuring some of our other academic programs.”
Day 1: Suffern and Saunders
On April 18, students from Suffern High School and Saunders Trades and Technical High School met with students and faculty from Oneonta’s Fashion and Textiles, Family and Consumer Sciences Education (FACSE), and Human Development and Family Studies programs.
Assistant Professor of Fashion Sarah Portway likened the Fashion and Textiles major to a smoothie, offering “a little bit of everything.” During a slide show overview of the program, Portway called on several current students to share their experiences in classes ranging from Fashion Journalism to Fundamentals of Draping. Manny Katz, a junior from Brooklyn, talked about her Innovations in Wearable Art class project to design and create a collection that would debut on the runway at the annual Student Fashion Show – and included a dress made of Chia seeds.
The Suffern High School students were accompanied by Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Shawna Strenfel, a 2007 SUNY Oneonta graduate who teaches two College in High School classes: Introduction to Teaching and Interior Design.
“This is all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was 16,” said Strenfel. “I actually was telling my students when we were walking around campus: Oneonta is the only school that I applied to, which is unheard of for them at this point, because it was Oneonta or Queens College, and I wanted the campus experience. The first time I ever stepped foot on this campus was July 8, 2003, and it was for my orientation. I had already committed fully, knowing that this is what I wanted to be, and this was where I was going to get the best education for it.”
She said seeing familiar places with her students – and newer facilities such as My Kitchen, where students can prepare their own meals in the dining hall – was a wonderful experience.
“I’ve been texting my college friends all day,” she said. “Each step along the way, it’s just another memory. A lot of the feedback from my students right now is that they can see themselves at home here. And I said, ‘That’s exactly how I felt the second I walked onto this campus.’ And I felt that way for all four years that I was here.”
Day 2: Monroe-Woodbury
On April 19, students from Monroe-Woodbury High School met with students and faculty from Oneonta’s Fashion and Textiles, FACSE and Food Service and Restaurant Administration (FSRA) programs.
During the FSRA program tour, the students divided into small groups to get a taste – literally – of how the program prepares students for careers in hospitality management. In the kitchen where introductory cooking and baking courses are taught, the students helped Lecturer Collen Engle whip up a batch of guacamole. Some had never tasted fresh cilantro before, and Engle showed them a trick for squeezing juice from a lime with metal tongs. Across the hall in another kitchen, Lecturer Oscar Oberkircher made homemade pizza for the students in a convection oven. While stirring a pot of vegan ratatouille soup, he told them about the hands-on hospitality experiences Oneonta FSRA students can have, including an upcoming charity event to benefit the World Central Kitchen.
The students were accompanied by their teacher, Beth Rickli, who graduated from Oneonta in 1992 with a degree in fashion merchandising but later changed gears and got her teaching certification in FACSE. She teaches three College in High School courses – Interior Design, Apparel Construction and Culinary Creations – at Monroe-Woodbury, which has one of the largest Family and Consumer Science departments in New York State.
Coming Full Circle
If it hadn’t been for her College in High School experience at Suffern High School, SUNY Oneonta junior Hailee Sternberg would not be living her best life as a FACSE major at Oneonta.
She took the Introduction to Education class with Strenfel, who became her mentor and sparked an interest in both FACSE and SUNY Oneonta.
“I think that the Family and Consumer Science classes are really important because they give students life skills that they need, so I was interested in teaching that,” she said. “I really love that the classes I’m taking here are the classes that I’m going to be teaching. I like that the program is very hands-on and it’s something different every day. It’s not just sitting in a classroom writing essays and reading texts. You actually get to get into the kitchen, and use a sewing machine, and draw up floor plans.”
FACSE Lecturer Rosemarie Avanzato was Strenfel’s mentor when she was a student at Oneonta, and now she is Sternberg’s advisor, bringing the connection full circle.
“Shawna has definitely had a huge influence on me, and that was what led me to come to Oneonta for FACSE,” Sternberg said. “I still talk to her all the time and she’s always there to help with whatever I need. And then having that connection with Rose as well kind of ties it all together because she was always there for Shawna, too.”
Sternberg said it was rewarding to be one of the panelists who shared their experiences with the high school students during Avanzato’s presentation. “I think it’s really great that the students were actually able to come here and get a tour of the school and a little insight on the program,” she said. “I know that there was one student from Suffern who wasn’t actually interested in going to college, and after she left here she said that she wants to apply to colleges now, so I think that the visit made a really big impact on some of the students.”