Alumni College Day 2021

Nowadays, having a virtual event is pretty common and this year’s Alumni College Day was no exception. The format moved from in-person to virtual, and this year we broke our day up into two separate talks, the first a requirement for Grades 9/10 and optional for Grades 11/12; and the opposite during the latter half of the afternoon. We didn’t want to interrupt class time for all the students to participate, so we decided to do it on a Day 9, which is a day where Upper School students are home with no scheduled classes, kind of a “catch-up day” that is new in the pandemic world. I was a little nervous about participation, but those Upper Schoolers made me proud!

The first part of Alumni College Day was a conversation with Rachel Pasternak ’99, Admissions Counselor and Mental Health Liaison at SUNY Geneseo. Rachel has a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and a Master’s Degree from Nazareth College. She is our local expert when it comes to students building up and creating a solid resume as they prepare to apply for college. We have been fortunate to have her share her information with previous groups, but never had so many participants on the Zoom: 71!

Rachel shared her own student experience while working with her Harley college counselor, Len Wilcox, as she prepared to apply for college—with her 8-page resume, which she had been compiling for quite some time! She then shared the importance of quality vs. quantity on a resume and that the activities admissions counselors notice most are volunteer work, service-oriented activities, and leadership within a club. She stresses you should participate in activities you want to do, not ones you feel you “should” do, and don’t be afraid to say “No” if your plate is getting too full. Time management is a critical key. Admissions counselors want to see that you can keep a good grade point average (GPA) and participate in outside activities at the same time. Rachel also reminded the group that you need to leave time for family, friends, and fun. What activity do you have that is just for you? Maybe’s it’s TikTok, reading a book, talking with friends. You need to have something separate from your academics and your resume-building extracurricular activities.

Rachel also shared that is okay to explore and figure out what you want to do; and you don’t have to stick with something just because you signed-up for it (a problem she had). She said college admissions folks notice the length of time you participated and like consistency.

She also spoke about building your college resume, a “polished, thoughtfully-written presentation of your qualifications to a college.” She said you can use any of the following to start collecting information for your resume: Canva, Resume Genius, Google Docs or SCOIR (what Harley uses).

She suggests the following timeline for students:

Starting in Grade 9, sit down with a parent/guardian, a teacher, or counselor and talk about your accomplishments. Make a list, keep track, start that resume and edit it later. She also suggested tracking the college mail you start receiving because you are going to get a lot. Even if you don’t look at it right away, put it in a designated box, basket, folder, or a bag and keep it together so you can take a look at it later.

In Grade, 10 start taking a look at your college options. Go to websites, set up visits, or do an informational webinar. She highly suggests creating a unique college email address for yourself. She apologized that college send a lot of emails to prospective students, and said creating a new address for college inquiries ONLY will keep your personal and school emails from getting clogged up. Budget time to scroll through them so as not to get overwhelmed.

In Grade 11 is a very important year when it comes to college applications; keep track of your GPA and keep it up. Join some clubs and make them worthwhile, remember quality vs. quantity! Check-in with yourself often and make sure you are doing okay, working hard, and getting excited about your next steps!

It was a tremendously helpful and focused part of Alumni College Day and the students were full of questions and appreciation.

For part II of Alumni College Day, we had a wonderful group of alumni join our 85 participants for a general talk about “Life at College”: Meg Green ’19 (University of Cincinnati), Kristin Jones ’18 (Northwestern University), Kyle Lacey ’19 (Lynn University), Holly Peckham ’18 (Purdue University), Eileen Reinhardt ’17 (SUNY Geneseo), Audrey Scudder ’19 (Vanderbilt University), Lia Urban-Spillane ’17 (Trinity College), and Corey Zhang ’19 (University of Rochester).

The first question that Harley College Counselor Amanda Edelhardt threw out to the group following introductions was, “What do you look for when applying to a school?”

What majors are available?
Location (close to home, city vs. rural)
School size
Internship opportunities
Opportunity to be out of comfort zone

A couple members of our group transferred schools in the first year or two, but did not regret their choice and simply said that plans change, expectations change, and you move on.

“Tell us about the college application process.”

One of our guests had done so much research ahead of time and applied so early, that the excitement about applying to schools wavered. She did essays for schools that she was not even excited about anymore. She said it’s fine to do your research, but stay flexible.
Several people said to get to know the school you are applying to. You might not like the people you might be joinin—and you should learn that before you get there
One person applied to too many schools, even ones she didn’t want, and the one she attended was one she applied for on a whim as it didn’t really fit any of the criteria she was looking for, but she is there now and loves it. You need to be open-minded. It’s a big decision, but not irreversible. Academics and the social aspect of college are kind of equal and you need to make sure you like the people.
Sometimes finding the right college takes a while, so be patient.
One of our speakers felt pressured to apply early decision, she got in and she’s happy, but finding a good college takes time.
Set deadlines to write essays and have someone hold you accountable for the deadline.
Don’t save all of your essays for one time.

“Tell us about academics and when you declare a major”

For some schools, you have to pick your major sophomore year and keep in mind, that taking one class can deter you from a major and that’s ok
You might go into college with one idea and totally switch—again, that’s ok
Take a variety of classes Freshman year and see what you are interested in
Internships are a great opportunity to try working in the field you THINK you are interested in
Classes don’t have to start at 8 o’clock am like at Harley, choose times that work best for you

“What about the non-academic side of college?”

It’s okay to change friends. Your orientation friends might not be your friends the whole time.
You need to be flexible. Sometimes your schedule doesn’t always line up with your friends, be willing to grow and expand your connections.
You might find your best friend at orientation, but be able to expand your friend group, and definitely make friends with people outside your major.
Take advantage of activities on campus.
Take advantage of activities like pre-orientation, and clubs you can make friends with similar interests.
Board game nights are fun at freshman orientation.
Don’t underestimate the power of social media and making friends with similar interests.
When looking at schools, research the quality of life, like: student health access, mental health resources, even nearby grocery stores or coffee shops.
Make sure you know how to get around if you don’t have a car or if you do have a car, where do you park?
Don’t be afraid to knock on someone’s door and introduce yourself.
Don’t be afraid to pick the brains of older students, ask for advice.
Don’t pick a school based on a particular club or activity, all schools have tons of clubs and options.
Does your college have a career center to help you with your resume, find internships and jobs after college?

Any other advice?

Don’t overload the fall of your senior year of high school, take a writing class, know which schools you want to apply to and spend the fall going on visits.
If you are feeling overloaded, let your teachers know, they will understand, communication is the key.

We are so thankful every year for our alumni guests and their sage advice to our current Upper Schoolers!

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College Counseling

Harley’s Approach to College Counseling is highly individualized and student-centered. Students have direct access to college counselors throughout their Upper School experience, but really, each student is part of a team including faculty, administration, and staff. It’s our job to support each student and we want nothing more than to send students on to the next step of their journey at a right fit school for them. The student centered and driven process is wrapped in care, expertise, and professionalism.

We host college reps during times students are available (no need to miss a class) so they can make connections and learn more about potential schools. We also arrange campus visits for classes as field trips, host an alumni college day (where recent Upper School graduates return to share advice and answer questions), and help connect students with our international alumni network. In fact, representatives from schools all over the world actively seek opportunities to come to Harley and meet with our students!

Our college counselors are accredited and are part of national/global conversations on admission trends. They also attend and present at conferences across the country.

Beginning with our Grade 11 parent night, we offer informational sessions for parents, including one devoted just to financial aid. Our partnership with families is critical, as the college admissions world changes very quickly and having an expert to guide students and families through the process is essential.

View the downloadable College Counseling Guide

Clubs

“Club Rush” is an afternoon every fall in the Upper School when students have the chance to sign up for clubs for the year, and each year it is very different because new clubs are created based on student initiative and enthusiasm.

A few of this year’s choices: Sports Media, Social Action Club, Journalism Club, Feminism Club, Student of Color & Allies (SOCA), Gay-Straight Alliance, Tri M (music honor society), E-Sports Club, Euchre, Key Club (service), Animation Club, Dungeons & Dragons, Sustainability Club, Jewish Cultural Club, Astronomy Club, Biomimicry, and Beyond Soup (social justice/service).

Athletics

Each and every year, students at The Harley School participate in HAC Athletics, and their success continues to be impressive, both as students and athletes. Our athletic program is an integral part of Harley, teaching student-athletes invaluable lessons about teamwork, time management, persistence, and competition. Our program allows them to develop physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally as they represent their school on and off the field. They grow, mature, and work hard to be the best teammate they can, while creating lifelong memories with teammates who often remain friends for life.

Helping our athletes to reach their potential are some of HAC’s best assets: our coaches. More often than not, they are drawn from the ranks of our faculty and have a deep understanding of the personalities and abilities of the student-athletes on their teams.

We strive to find the right balance of academics, exercise, and personal growth for everyone. By offering a variety of sports at many different levels, all student-athletes find a sport they can be successful in. It is with great pride and pleasure that my team and I work to enrich the athletic lives of all our HAC student-athletes. Go Wolves!

To learn more check out our athletics page.

Student Leadership

Our Upper School is filled with formal and informal opportunities for students to take on leadership roles. Whether following passions or learning new skills, student-driven opportunities take many shapes.

– Independent study: one trimester, full year, and multi-year projects have included automating our solar chimneys, coding handmade musical instruments, or developing a class on financial literacy for underserved high school students.

– Serving on student council

– STEM: Climate curriculum program, biomimicry program, NASA Hunch program

Clubs

Hospice

Unlike this class, death is not an elective. Although it is one of two universal human experiences, our culture often ignores, denies, or misconstrues the true nature of death and dying. What happens when we bear witness to this natural process in the cycle of life and develop our ability to be fully present with others when they need us more than ever? It has the potential to change us deeply and fundamentally while shining a brilliant light on the path of our own lives.

With the support of their classmates, teacher, and comfort care home communities, senior students are offered the chance to care for others who truly need their purposeful, non-judgmental attention. In the home-like setting of a comfort care home, opportunities for learning extend beyond a traditional classroom rubric and conventional methods of evaluation. In this course, students will certainly find tangible “learning outcomes” by studying the medical/physical processes associated with dying and the basic nursing assistant skills of comfort care. The ultimate goal, however, will always be rooted in true relationships and connection, which occurs only through empathy and compassion.

Learn more about the Hospice Program at Harley HERE.

Capstone/Independent Studies

This program utilizes environmentally-focused approaches to education and hands-on learning in order to foster the next generation of leaders through a lens of sustainability and problem-solving.

Food & Farm: These year-long and trimester-long classes are held outside as much as possible, allowing students to become leaders in our various growing spaces. They cover environmental justice issues as well as hands-on work such as planning and overseeing planting, harvesting, and preparation of the gardens.

Past year-long focus projects have included: Creating a native plant shade garden in the Wild Wood area, redesigning our hydroponic system, overhauling Harley’s high tunnel, and improving the irrigation system for the MicroFarm.

Culinary Arts: These classes have a two-fold purpose: to give students practical skills in cooking and the science behind different techniques in the kitchen, learning about food justice, food sourcing, labor topics, and sustainability.

Past topics have included: Examining a plant-based diet, looking at the carbon footprint of different meals and food preparation methods, proposing a low carbon footprint menu to the dining hall, links between food labeling and environmental issues of food production.

Beekeeping: This one trimester class provides hands-on training in beekeeping, how to be a beekeeper, and safety and other techniques for working with bees. Once trained students help with all aspects of Harley beekeeping such as hive inspections, honey collection and extraction, and teaching students in Lower School about our hives.

Students pick a research topic addressing honeybee health and the larger environmental picture.

Social Justice

At Harley, our students learn how to evaluate social systems in order to identify complex problems in society through a lens of social justice. They take a hands-on approach to working for a fair, equitable society by researching, exploring and evaluating different perspectives, and offering solutions—both theoretical and practical.

Our faculty integrate social justice into our broader curriculum to assist students in gaining a foundational knowledge about what makes a democracy function. By gaining skills in ideating supportive pathways they become more exposed and experienced to how communities can undergo healing and restorative actions.

Capstone/Independent Studies

Students may create independent studies with supervising teachers throughout their Upper School experience or, during Grade 12, they can design Capstone projects—intensive collaborations with Harley faculty and off-campus mentors—involving rigorous academic study and culminating in public presentations. They are empowered to create their own curriculum, set goals, and work on time management skills in order to accomplish their objectives.

Independent Studies run the gamut from The Psychology of Sports to Furniture Design to The Neuroimaging of Alzheimer’s Disease. Capstones, meanwhile, are as diverse as the students who pursue them: Fictional Rochester, Autobiographical Art, Biomimicry Education, Organic Fuel, and Rochester Refugees.

Indicative of Upper School curiosity and creativity, pursuits such as these distinguish our graduates in college. Through deep dives of this sort, Harley students master more than speaking, writing, and computing: they learn to communicate, advocate, collaborate, organize, listen, and empathize.

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