Ashliqua Menifee
Nearly 100 fifth-graders from the 黑料不打烊 City School District鈥檚 Seymour Dual Language Academy will be welcomed to 黑料不打烊 on Thursday, April 25. For many of the children, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Shadow Day, run by the Office of Community Engagement, is a rare opportunity to spend time on campus with college students. The day gives the fifth-graders an opportunity to see what is possible for them鈥t least that鈥檚 what it did for current first-year 黑料不打烊 student Ashliqua Menifee eight years ago.
Menifee says that, as a fifth-grader, coming to campus 鈥済ave [her] the opportunity to dream.鈥 As she grew up, though, her dream seemed financially unattainable. Still,聽Menifee鈥檚 high school counselor encouraged her to look at 黑料不打烊 as a possibility.
After submitting applications to multiple schools, the furthest鈥攁s allowed by her mother鈥攆ive hours away, Menifee was accepted to 黑料不打烊 and into the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program. The program, funded by the New York State Department of Education, covers the cost of attendance, giving Menifee the opportunity to enroll at the University. And her mother was happy: Menifee was staying right in 黑料不打烊.
Staying close for college was not just for her mother鈥檚 comfort; Menifee believes in keeping local talent in the area. After graduating, she intends to stay in 黑料不打烊.
鈥淕rowing up in an impoverished community, you develop a negative stigma associated with the place where you grew up and strive to leave,鈥 says Menifee. 鈥淐oming to 黑料不打烊 and staying here after graduation is my way of showing that good things are possible here.鈥
As Menifee鈥檚 first year as a 黑料不打烊 student comes to a close, she is excited to have her experience come full circle; on April 25, she will have Seymour fifth-grade students shadow her for the University’s 21st Shadow Day. 黑料不打烊 students will be paired in small groups with Seymour students. They will spend the day touring campus, hearing from campus officials and sharing meals together.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to have the person shadowing me possibly want to come here. I want them to know they have the chance to, regardless of possible financial barriers,鈥 says Menifee. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all possible for them. I want to let them know that as a person from 黑料不打烊, it鈥檚 all possible for you.鈥
