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15th Annual WISE Conference

WISE Services was proud to sponsor its 15th annual conference, “Empowering Students,” hosted by the Nyack HS WISE program on March 17, 2006.  Over 100 WISE students, mentors, coordinators, and community Task Force members participated.

Greetings from Nyack Assistant Superintendents Walter Woodhouse (whose son Jonathan participated in the program in 1996), and Winsome Gregory (whose son Dwaine participated in the Woodlands program in 2002) started the program.  They were followed by new Nyack Superintendent, Valencia Douglas, who spoke of her enthusiasm for the program.  Linda Greene, Executive Director, introduced three Nyack graduates who described their WISE experiences.  Cory Hunt, ‘04 spoke about his project in the geosciences at Lamont Geological Observatory and his double-major at Binghamton in Computer Science and Anthropology.  Abe Barth-Werb, also ‘04, described his passion for stage lighting and how he loved the WISE Program because he had the freedom to learn in the real world with the support of his mentor, Tom Burns. Genik Vasquez Sanchez, ’01, recounted how she dropped out of school and then returned to complete her studies and do a WISE project in Art Therapy.  She thanked her mentor, Anna Silverman.  Tashania Leard welcomed the audience on behalf of this year’s students and Vic Leviatin, President of WISE Services greeted the attendees. 

Participants attended sessions on Introduction to WISE, the Connect!  Internet program, and a lively workshop session  for Coordinators on “Working with Mentors” led by John McLain and Constantine Andreadis from Woodlands HS and Suzanne Schneider from Hendrick Hudson HS.  The next set of workshops included a session for Counselors and Administrators on Guidance and the WISE Program and a workshop on expanding the Task Force to include more community participants.  During both sessions students had an opportunity to speak with each other and to hear from Student Coordinators from Woodlands and Rondout Valley in separate students-only sessions built around the theme of “Empowering Students.”

Participants enjoyed the conference, as indicated by these comments on the conference evaluation forms: “The conference was incredibly interesting and eye opening.” “I learned about different schools doing the WISE Program and how they implement the program.”  “I valued the contact with experienced WISE teachers.”  “Great workshop – learned a lot through sharing.”  A student noted “I took a risk and learned something new.  I learned about student empowerment and believing in yourself.  I also learned to take advantage of the opportunities in front of me and to learn as much as possible.”