College Lesson: Recent Graduates Dish

(This story was posted by Joe Dowd. It was reported and written by Genna Apfel, a student at C.W. Post-LIU.)

Angelia Calise grew up in Plainview and graduated from Plainview Old-Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School in 2009. She feels it’s very important to share with former schoolmates that picking a college close by to you can still feel hundreds of miles away from home.

“When you reside on campus, it feels like you “went away” to school,” said Calise, who used to be so caught up with getting out of Plainview and didn’t want to give local campuses a try.

“If I were a senior in high school, I would want to know that no one should worry about going away to a school and should focus on understanding that residential life can be amazing. That is what is important, not the mileage.”

She is now 21 and a senior at the Post Campus of Long Island University. She plans to graduate this May. She has gotten more involved on campus and is doing community service for her local community.

“I have also taken use of my professors and supervisors as mentors and it really makes a difference, says Calise. She is a Psychology major who grew personally and professionally from the clubs and organization she joined and now, she says, her confidence soars.