The New York State Council on Women and Girls will be honoring female high school athletes from across the State who are planning to participate in athletics while in college. The event, part of Governor Cuomo’s Celebration of Women in NYS, will take place when the WNBA’s New York Liberty take on the Connecticut Sun at the Times Union Center in Albany on May 19, 2019 at 2:00pm. 

Student honorees will have the opportunity to participate in a reception with players and women leaders from across the State and a half-time on-court ceremony. In addition, honorees’ names, their high school, the sport they will be playing, and the college they will attending will appear on the continuous ticker in the arena throughout the game.

STEER student athlete Ayenaliz Velasquez is an honor student and a two-sport varsity athlete at Port Chester High School. She was an outstanding player on the Soccer Team and two-year co-captain of the Track and Field Team. She achieved a new personal record in her main event, the long jump, in May 2019. At 5’2” she jumped 17’2”. Not only does she plan to continue her success athletically at Ithaca College next Fall but she is excited to continue her academic studies as an Athletic Training Major. Ayenaliz is passionate about helping others and giving back to her community! She also has embraced her musical talent throughout her high school career. She plays the trumpet and is Drum Major of the Port Chester High School Marching Band. She is also a leader of the STEER for Student Athletes Program.

Congratulations Ayenaliz “Nani” Velasquez, for all your accomplishments! You have made 
STEER proud in your time in the program.

On Saturday, May 11th, 2019, STEER hosted its first College Fair in partnership with the Carver Center’s teen program in Port Chester, NY. In the past, STEER has facilitated events centered around the college process but this was this was the
organization’s first time sponsoring an event of the sort. “Accessibility, in terms of location and subject matter, for our student-athletes is something we always keep in mind when developing programming,” says Susana Garcia, Assistant Student Support Administrator at STEER. ‘It’s really exciting to bring a college networking opportunity directly into one of the communities we serve.”

The college fair encouraged the STEER student-athletes to connect with representatives from schools in the tri-state area including: Monroe College, Keane University, The University of New Haven, LaGuardia Community College, Westchester Community College and SUNY Purchase. In addition to speaking with admissions representatives, local college undergraduates were present at the event to speak about their experiences as current students. Among the college volunteers present was STEER graduate, Karmen Pantoja, a current sophomore at Chapman University in California. Karmen spoke about her experiences transitioning to college life, her recent return from a semester abroad in Rome, and her current search for a summer internship in the political science field.

After our student-athletes spent time speaking to representatives and volunteers Purchase College Athletic Director, Chris Bisignano and his team of college coaches, spoke about the college admissions process, and how to avoid pitfalls when navigating the recruiting and admissions process. Bisignano and his coaches placed emphasis on the importance of academic excellence and character when it comes to recruiting. Following the Purchase team, current soccer players at Westchester Community College answered questions for our student-athletes, including what a college training schedule looks like, how they manage academic and sports, and what extracurriculars they are involved in after college.