Transfer student avoids ‘tracking back’ by heading to Hudson Valley

Neimra Coulibaly

Staff Writer

The goal for most Hudson Valley students is to transfer into a four-year school, but some students end up tracking back to Hudson Valley.

Kamanzi Rama-Monroe is one of these students who took a step back from his plans to attend Hudson Valley. In 2015, Rama-Monroe transferred to Hudson Valley after spending two semesters at SUNY Potsdam.

“You are more independent and more inclined to do better,” said Rama-Monroe about Potsdam. Rama-Monroe found that he was extra motivated to do well in his studies at Potsdam, which is something he doesn’t feel as much at Hudson Valley.

Rama-Monroe also misses his ability to make friends from SUNY Potsdam. “People were more inclined to spark up a random conversation, while here people already have their groups of friends that they are familiar with and don’t feel the need to branch out,” he said.

Entering Potsdam as a biology major towards a career in medicine, Rama-Monroe left the four-year institution, switching his major to computer science. After meeting with his academic advisor at Potsdam, he discovered he didn’t have the prerequisites for a degree in computer science.

With guidance from his father, Rama-Monroe decided going to Hudson Valley was more suitable than spending an extra two semesters at Potsdam to fulfill his requirements. “I would’ve had to spend more money just to start over,” he said.

“It feels like tracking back,” said Rama-Monroe.

Although, Monroe was disappointed at first, he learned to understand that Hudson Valley was only a temporary stage in his life. “Don’t compare a four-year school to a two-year — those two years goes by fast and you won’t be here forever,” he said.
Understanding that Hudson Valley isn’t permanent for him works as his motivation to really focus in his studies and push forward with his goals in obtaining his computer science degree.