HVCC and Questar Celebrate STEM Program Opening

By Jaidyn Hires, News Editor

Hudson Valley Community College has officially opened the Questar III BOCES & HVCC STEM High School. The opening ceremony was held Friday, September 10. 

The event’s press release described the new school as, “The first New York State Pathways in Technology (P-Tech) and Smart Scholar Early College High School to be hosted on a community college campus in the capital region.”

The curriculum blends both high school and college-level courses. The school is partnered with the Tech Valley Center of Gravity, a local non-profit organization based in Downtown Troy. 

The collaboration gives the high school students on campus the opportunity to engage with their fields in a hands-on work environment.

The theme of the event was the investment in New York’s future. STEM is vital to the economy, and the world of science. Despite this, many important STEM-related position remain unfilled. 

The announcement of Questar and HVCC’s partnership was made last Spring. Students and staff of both schools, along with many local officials gathered to see the newly renovated Lang Technical Building become home base to the STEM students. 

Hudson Valley Community College President, Dr. Roger Ramsammy recounted his meeting with Superintendent of Questar BOCES III, Dr. Gladys Cruz and immediately having a shared interest in combining capabilities for the benefit of STEM students.

Dr. Cruz spoke directly to her students, amassed to the right of her near the flagpole. With its student population of 54, she proclaimed the school a “small school with big ideas” and speaks to the school programs including “industry guided workforce development.”

Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin told The Hudsonian that the program is essential in getting students more interested in the future of STEM. “It’s vitally important, not just to the county and the college, but to the entire nation,” McLaughlin said. 

Assemblyman Jake Ashby told The Hudsonian he hopes the program adds more opportunity to the Hudson Valley experience. “I think we can always count on President Ramsammy and his team to bring this to fruition, to be innovative,” Ashby said.

Dennis Kennedy, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing at Hudson Valley Community College told The Hudsonian that the combination between high school and college teachings is a big opportunity for students. 

“We think it will add the ability for students to complete their high school diploma while they earn a college degree at the same time. So, for the high school students, they’ll have the opportunity to get ahead academically,” Kennedy said. 

One student considering taking the program is Kevin Cecchetto. Cecchetto mentioned that the lack of quality advancement technology programs in his high school interests him about the program at Hudson Valley. 

“We tried doing advancement technology in high school and early but it’s never been this adamant and this straightforward as it is now,” Cecchetto said. Paige Grimmick, also considering the program, said the technological aspect of the program appeals to her. “It’s more technology-based. Kids nowadays are more into electronics,” Grimmick said.

President Roger Ramsammy told The Hudsonian he was excited by the possibilities of the initiative. “We often get kids here after high school, kids who are struggling, having to make up a year or two to try and catch up. It’s going to add the experience where these kids are already prepared to flourish”, Ramsammy said. 

President Ramsammy also took time to thank the honored guests of the morning, the local and federal legislators that helped to make the celebration possible. In attendance were Senator Paul Tonko, State Senator Daphne Jordan, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin and Assemblymen John McDonald, Phil Steck and Jake Ashby. 

Congressman Tonko spoke passionately during the event about the need for a focus on STEM careers, especially to make the United States “robustly competitive as a nation.” The event had a variety of speakers, all with pivotal roles in the new school’s conception.

State Senator Daphne Jordan told The Hudsonian she hopes the program convinces more students to remain in the region. “What we want in the very end is that these students stay in the capital region and work here where the opportunity to live and create a great life for themselves,” Jordan said. 

Besides the aforementioned officials and administration, the STEM High School Principal and a parent of two students attending spoke to its significance and innovation as a new option in undergraduate education.