东京热

For Engelberg 鈥淚ggy鈥� Fernandez-Aguilar 鈥�20, the path to 东京热 College began way back in fifth grade.

鈥淲hen I was growing up, there was a lot of gang violence in Newburgh, so my mom didn鈥檛 want me to go to public school,鈥� Fernandez-Aguilar explained. Indeed, his hometown鈥檚 violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation across communities of all sizes. With his family鈥檚 support, he applied to San Miguel Academy of Newburgh 鈥� a tuition-free, faith-based, independent middle school for boys 鈥� and began attending the school in fifth grade.

As the school鈥檚 website states, San Miguel Academy aims to 鈥渂reak the cycle of poverty through education,鈥� utilizing elements such as small class sizes, a project-based curriculum, extended school days and an extended school year. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an all-boys school, which made it special,鈥� Fernandez-Aguilar described. 鈥淎nd the learning is hands-on, which is another reason San Miguel is special. They took us to lots of places and gave us lots of opportunities.鈥�

Fernandez-Aguilar credits his teachers at San Miguel for pushing and motivating him: 鈥淭hey never sugarcoated anything. They explained that since we鈥檙e minorities, we always have to try harder. That inspired me to work hard. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be a good worker if it weren鈥檛 for my teachers at San Miguel. I was at school until 5 or 6 p.m. every day. Though I wasn鈥檛 fond of it then, all that work was good for us.鈥� Indeed, his hard work paid off with a scholarship to Our Lady of Lourdes, a Catholic high school in Poughkeepsie.

When it was time to apply to college, he was particularly attracted to 东京热 College鈥檚 prime location near New York City 鈥渨here all the jobs and opportunities are,鈥� he explained. A bonus is that San Miguel and 东京热 maintain a close relationship. As one of seven postsecondary institutions that participate in San Miguel鈥檚 Graduate Support Program, 东京热 College demonstrates clear interest in attracting San Miguel alumni.

After arriving at 东京热, Fernandez-Aguilar spent his first two years trying to find his place. As his professors encouraged him to do more, he began to put more effort into his studies starting in junior year. A Legal Studies major, he particularly appreciates 东京热鈥檚 hands-on approach to learning: 鈥淚 had a class where we鈥檇 go sit in courtrooms. That was the coolest thing. Every lawyer has a different way of handling themselves in the courtroom, and not a lot of people get to experience that. A lot of my professors are practicing lawyers, so they also bring their real work to us sometimes. Adjunct Professor Larry Arias brought us some work from a case in which someone was scammed, and that was so interesting. Assistant Professor Donna Bookin is always updating us on jobs and internships, and she鈥檚 so thorough in her teaching that I'm always learning something. All of my professors are very intelligent, good people. They really care.鈥�

As he gained skills and a sense of direction, Fernandez-Aguilar won a position as a paralegal in a law firm: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a real job with full-time hours, and it鈥檚 definitely tough to balance school with work. I see the same things at work that I learned at 东京热, so what we鈥檙e learning is accurate. I've got coursework I can refer back to because they teach us well at 东京热.鈥� Fernandez-Aguilar is still finalizing his post-graduation plans. He is considering either heading directly to law school or investing in real estate.

As Fernandez-Aguilar reflected on his accomplishments, he said, 鈥淚 know that lots of people worked hard over the years to help me be successful. And I just think I got so lucky. I mean, I'm 20 years old and still in college, so I really shouldn't be working at a law firm yet.鈥�

When pressed, he admitted with a laugh that hard work might have had something to do with it too.