A contingent of 24 Bluefield State College students and four Student Support Services (SSS) staffers is pictured at the top of the World Trade Center in New York. The BSC group toured New York during a recent cultural enrichment trip sponsored by the SSS program at BSC.

Packing in dozens of activities over a two-day period, 24 Bluefield State College students and four staffers took part in an educational and entertaining trip to New York City last week.

The students, participants in the Student Support Services (SSS) program at BSC, made the trip in conjunction with SSS activities. "Throughout the year, Student Support Services provides a wide range of educational assistance to participants, including tutoring, counseling, mentoring, and cultural enhancement opportunities," noted BSC SSS Director Kathy Epperly. "The major goal of the program is to retain and graduate participants, but we also believe in educating the whole person. What better way to accomplish this than to expose them to New York, the greatest city in the world!"

The students visited Upper Manhattan, New York's famous West Side, and several celebrities' residences. They spent time in Central Park, touring the John Lennon Memorial, then traveled to the Cathedral of St. John, the Divine, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Before attending the operatic drama, "Les Miserables," the BSC contingent traveled to the bright lights and bustling excitement of Times Square. The following day they caught a ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. In the afternoon, they went to the 107th floor Observation Deck of the World Trade Center, where they enjoyed the spectacular views of Manhattan and all the city's burroughs. Later, they traveled uptown to 5th Avenue, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, and Chinatown.

"Our students developed some lifetime memories through these experiences, and many were overwhelmed by everything they saw," Epperly observed.

Student Support Services is a federally-funded TRIO program, providing curricular and supportive services to 265 income eligible, disabled, and/or first generation college students. Since its inception at BSC nearly 30 years ago, SSS has assisted more than 7000 students.