Ramapo Collab, a club first introduced at Ramapo in 2019, is making its appearance again in the 2022-2023 school year. Many students at Ramapo may not have even heard of the small club, however, Collab plans on taking initiative this year in strides to becoming one of Ramapo’s more popular clubs.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the idea of choosing a career path? Are you unsure of your interests? High school students often feel an immense amount of pressure to figure out what colleges they want to apply to, which classes they want to take, and what their major will be. While constantly being told that the four years goes by in a flash, students may experience anxiety about what their future holds. Sophomore Emma McElkenny says, “I feel overwhelmed because it feels like so many other people know exactly what they want to be and I just haven’t fully discovered what I want to spend the rest of my life doing.”
Ramapo Collab is a stress-free environment that allows students to discover their interests through internships and volunteer opportunities outside of school. Club supervisor Ms. Copeland states, “‘Students should join Collab if they want to learn more about how they want to spend almost half of their waking hours, as an adult in the working world … Through its collaborative function with other clubs and local businesses, Ramapo Collab spends the first half of the academic year (from October through January) discussing and refining student interests, then later in the year, (February through May) setting up internships and volunteer opportunities based on those interests.’” Not only do teens get to experiment with their hobbies through various activities such as painting, drawing, writing, or nature walks, but they also get the chance to earn community service hours at events such as making sandwiches for the homeless. Students at this event can choose whether they want to attend the homeless shelter to donate their sandwiches. These events help high schoolers to recognize what attracts their attention in the world, whether that be art, nature, technology, or even making sandwiches.
Ramapo Collab is here to help students establish their own identity and make them feel less alone in the stressful process of ultimately becoming a working adult.