"I was homeschooled and didn't have any classroom experience until I was 19 years old. I didn’t want to go right into a big school; I wanted to ease in to the college experience. My father had taken some classes at SUNY Adirondack before pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in education and my mother took a few classes here as well, so coming here was familiar to me, it was a good fit.

Coming from a homeschool background I needed time to adjust, so when I started here I didn’t take on a full schedule. I completed 7 credits and did well, so I was encouraged to take on more. My English professor, Mr. Pace, was very motivating. Being homeschooled doesn’t give you much experience with critiques; my parents were the only ones to ever see my work. When Professor Pase read some of my writing and told me that I was good at it, it was very rewarding to me and I carried that with me into allof my other classes. Now writing comes easy to me when it used to be difficult at times.

I have always had a hard time meeting people and I still do because that is just who I am as a person. It's difficult for me to approach other people.

Being here is nice; the class sizes are small and people come up and interact with you because everyone is here for the same reason and is doing the same thing.

Jenna St. Jacques, the Assistant Director of the Wilton Center, encouraged me to share my story.

What I would tell other students is not to be nervous about starting college here. There are people here that have gone through the same things as you and have the same fears as you. I hope to transfer on to a bigger school and continue my education."

Annina Manera
Liberal Arts: Humanities and Social Sciences, Class of 2017
Greenwich, NY
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