Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘People assume someone’s college choice is a reflection of their intelligence and their abilities; I know it’s more than that.’

Valley Stream

“People assume someone’s college choice is a reflection of their intelligence and their abilities; I know it’s more than that. My top college choices were out of my family’s price range, even with scholarships. My high school GPA was a 107.36, and I finished sixth out of 206 in my graduating class. I was the only student on Long Island awarded the Horatio Alger National Scholarship, an award for academic success and outstanding leadership despite going through difficult life challenges. Even with the prestigious award, the cost was just too much. It was difficult to see my peers committing to big private schools that I couldn’t attend. It took a long time to get over that.

“I felt like I had worked so hard, and I was well over the SUNY requirements for SAT scores-even for the honors colleges. In a way, I felt like I was letting myself down, but then I came to terms with the fact that I was still going to get the same education. I would also get paid to go to a SUNY because the scholarship money was too much for them.

I learned that no matter where you go, as long as it’s the right place for you, you’ll make yourself at home and enjoy yourself.

“I love it at University at Albany. I learned that no matter where you go, as long as it’s the right place for you, you’ll make yourself at home and enjoy yourself. I wish somebody had told me that when I was stressing out about it and feeling badly. Now I know that it was the best choice for me. I’m in the honors college and I’m a digital forensics major with a minor in informatics. Choosing a college showed me that sometimes you have to be mature about a situation and think about where you’ll be in the next ten years.

“At any moment, you may feel like the world is ending and that a choice is going to ruin the rest of your life. I chose to think about how, in 10 years, I will have my degree; maybe I will go for my master’s. I know that I will be happy with whatever I decide to do. I finished the first semester of college with a 4.0, despite being in complete lockdown because of COVID. It definitely impacted the way that I made relationships. It was hard to make connections with professors, which is something that I really valued in high school, but I know I’m getting a good education and that I’m continuing to make a second home.”

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Faces of Long Island is produced by Newsday Consumer Marketing. This content does not involve the reporting and editing staff of Newsday’s Editorial Department.