Featured Member: Mark Riley on HBCU CONNECT!

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Q&A With Mark Riley

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Mark Riley
Site Assistant, Boys and Girls Club
Location: Schenectady, NY United States
Joined: May 18th, 2017

About (request update)

When I was thinking about my future as a teenager in Harlem, college had no place in my plans. Instead, I planned to start my own business but after earning my GED and taking time off from school to sell cars, I began to get the feeling I could go further.

Soon after a friend told me about Hudson Valley Community College, he introduced me to someone who change the course of my educational career. That person was Roy Pompey, the Coordinator of Hudson Valley’s Collegiate Academic Support Program, or CASP. CASP helps traditionally underrepresented students with academics as well as life coaching and mentoring. I liked what I saw at Hudson Valley and enrolled in 2013 but naturally, there were more challenges to come.

During this time, I had been living with a friend, but the friend suddenly had family members move in, leaving me without a roof over my head during the following fall semester. With limited funds, I found myself faced with a decision and a choice: give up on school and get an apartment, or keep attending class and sleep in my car. I chose to put my education first. Making use of the 24-hour library on campus, I parked outside and alternated between sleeping and going inside to study when it got too cold.

That semester I made the President’s list for the first time. Then, Mr. Pompey alerted me to the Touhey Emergency Fund Scholarship, which helped me get back home for the holidays without having to drop out in order to afford the trip. Soon after, I no longer had to live in my car and was well on my way to earning my degree.

Today, I am Graduating with a Liberal Arts Degree and I have been accepted to my dream school, Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. While I’m not exactly sure where my education will take me, I am certainly on the road to success.

Website:

http://news10.com/2017/05/11/from-homeless-to-graduate-hvcc-student-prepares-to-walk-

Experience

I currently work with Boys and Girls Club as Site Assistant
I have 3 years of experience working in the Teaching / K-12 Education industry.

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