MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—The Town of Wallkill Community Center hosted a new event for the Orange County community to learn about historically black colleges and universities, bringing young and old together for education, community spirit, and music.
The July 18 gathering was organized by county legislator DeShanda Carter, who represents the Middletown and Wallkill areas.
Carter told The Epoch Times she put together the event because information in Orange County on historically black higher education is not integrated between the cities of Middletown and Newburgh.
This event made it possible to centralize and spread the knowledge on a larger scale, she said.
The information session had presentations from Legacy Youth Travel and the Denson Admissions Group, as well as a live performance by the Cobra Performing Arts Marching Band.
Legacy Youth Travel is a Detroit-based company that offers educational travel experiences.
It promoted its historically black colleges and universities Homecoming Tour, which brings students from around the country to experience different historically black schools and their culture.
Legacy Youth Travel President Crystal Ackins spoke to the room of families and young people about what they would experience on the trip.
She told The Epoch Times that Orange County is an underserved area for black colleges and that she hopes to expose students to those schools and help them attend and get scholarships.
The week-long tour visits nine colleges and universities, and it includes a football game, a parade, and shows at North Carolina A&T State University for its 100th anniversary homecoming.
The Denson Admissions Group also presented tour options but focused more on how they can help students prepare and get into colleges.
The Denson tours visit historically black schools as well as New York state universities.
The group helps students with college essays, applying to universities, getting fee waivers for application expenses, SAT prep, and more college admission-related services.
The Marching Cobra drum and dance troupe from Yonkers performed several times at the event, making the atmosphere lively and focused.
The group is made up of children and teenagers from Yonkers who participate in an afterschool program to practice their skills.
Cobra Performing Arts, Inc. has sent its bands and performers to major events such as the Super Bowl and has played in Europe.
Chantal Bennett, a parent coordinator for the band, told The Epoch Times that the group has helped her daughter through school.
“They get a sense of camaraderie, loyalty, dedication, discipline. Definitely discipline,” she said.
Carter said that she wants to make the information event an annual occurrence and that they had received positive feedback and community response this year.
She later told The Epoch Times that the event drew 80 attendees.
The legislator said the event is especially important because there is no tradition of black colleges and universities in upstate New York.
“[Historically black colleges are] a big tradition down south, but here a lot of students may not even be culturally aware as to what they offer, what they are, what they can do,” she said.
Lando Will, an Orange County resident and father of a soon-to-be college-aged daughter, attended because he wanted information about potential schools that she could go to, in the region and across the country.
“You’ve got to be able to get the information out to the young people, especially when it comes to paying for college. It can get expensive. You know, so information is powerful. Information is key,” Will said.
Will stated that he plans to send his daughter on a tour.
Wallkill Town Supervisor Frank DenDanto attended and told The Epoch Times that he was happy to help organize and provide the venue for the event.
He said he believes that the opportunity to go on those tours will help black students with personal identity, self-awareness, and higher education opportunities.
