Event 2

                        Accepted Student Day

On Saturday, November 12, I attended the accepted student day at Rhode Island College. I was representing the YDEV major with Dr.Bogad, and 6 more of the YDEV students. Our tasks at the event consisted of introducing the YDEV major to the new income students. We also shared our journey with them in the YDEV program and where we see ourselves a couple of years from now.

As a new college student, it is very common to be unsure and confused about your career choices and even considering college as an option. During the event, I was stopped by a mother who was telling this exact thing about her teenage daughter who is really confused about her career choices.  It is for this reason that she has not attended college, because she does not want to waste time and money going for something she has her doubts about. After explaining the YDEV program to her, she expressed that the program is something that would match her daughter’s personality:‘’she loves   children but does not want to be a teacher or babysitter.” 

 Just like Eurydice’s daughter, a lot of youths "hits this stage" completely confused about the choices they have to make. It is very important as youth worker to let them know that it is okay to be confused and not to have a definite answer right away.  They should go out and explore until they find something that connects to them.  Here, I see the importance of this open house because it gives the students the opportunity to explore the programs they are considering.

Majority of the new students that made a stop at our YDEV table seemed to be confused about their career choice in the education field. I told them that I was in the same position when I first came to RIC. I shared that it was a long process for me to figure out what I really wanted to do on my college journey. I told the newly accepted students that YDEV program allowed me to combine all of the courses I was interested in and create my own unique study and that is what makes the YDEV program so special.

This event reminded me of the elevator speech that we practice in class with Dr. McKamey (YDEV 250) and classmates. It allows us to briefly describe the YDEV program, why we chose it, and what can be done when you obtain a degree in Youth Development Program.