Alumni Reunion Party
It was wonderful to see thirty eight Destination: College alums at our Alumni Reunion Party on Tuesday, January 7th in the Mount Vernon High School Cafeteria. All were excited to connect with their mentors and check in, others were happy to see their friends and catch up. The energy in the room was upbeat and the chatter was non-stop!
Things kicked off early with ten alums arriving at the Cooney College Center before the party started to work on their FAFSA applications with DC volunteers. It’s great that alums continue to access DC resources and look to us for guidance.
Eleven mentors attended the party, eager to check in with their mentees and hear how things are going. See below, Tyriek with mentor Bob Dennan, Ines with mentor Anne Angevine, mentor Phil Cannella and Rachel.
We loved catching up with two juniors who will finish college early (pictured below with Laura Amigone, Director of College Success, who stands on the right) – Laila Issa (In the middle of the photo) who will finish her undergraduate studies this spring, and start med school in the fall at Sophie Davis Medical School at City College, and business major, Nico Zaffuto (left in the photo) who will graduate a semester early (Fall 2025) at the Honors Program at Iona College.
DC continues to support and stay connect with ALL our graduates – including students who transition to the workforce. It was great to see Jayden and Demarley (photo below), who are working as assistant teachers in a special education classroom.
Our students continue to stay in touch with each other, and their ongoing friendships keep DC strong as well – lots of hugs, and catching up!
Tribute to Linda D’Arcy
Laura Amigone, our Director of College Success, led a heartfelt and well-deserved tribute to DC former staff member and now volunteer, Ms. Linda. Ms. Laura spoke of her own enduring relationship with Ms. Linda, how Ms. Linda brought her into the DC world and how much Ms. Linda had taught her when she first came to Destination: College. Ms. Michele, our Executive Director (not pictured), went on to discuss Ms. Linda’s many years as Director of College Access and Ms. Linda’s kind and caring approach which endures as she continues to work with Destination: College as a volunteer in our Cooney College Center. Ms. Laura then invited students to say a few words about their experiences with Ms. Linda.
Kaseem Miller (below, second from left) offered Ms. Linda his heartfelt thanks to his mentor for always being there for him since he was 16! (Kaseem is now 26) Kaseem described Ms. Linda as “Someone to call to talk through things”, helping him get his internship at Pepsi, which he has since turned into a full time job.
Thank you to all who attended. We think you’ll agree that the 2025 Alumni Reunion Party was a wonderful success! Scroll below to see more photos.
Here’s what some of the alums had to say:
“Love my campus, and can’t wait to go back!”
Stephany (SUNY Oswego) , Aurora, Pariz, and Merissa (all at Siena College)
“I did well, and I know I can do even better next semester.”
Melinda at Pace
“I’m so glad I’m at Cortland in the EOP program, they are so great – first place I go when I have a question about anything”
Tyriek at SUNY Cortland.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to DC!”
Tyra Williams, Junior at Howard University – planning to take the LSAT exam this summer and apply for law school in the fall.
