Even before she officially joined, Nas Mohamed (‘24) had a feeling that Liberty Partnerships Program would be a good fit.
As a freshman at Johnson City High School, she saw friends who were already in Liberty form close connections with each other and their mentors, get academic support, and take part in summer activities. She could tell that the students in Liberty had a family-like bond.
“They always said there was a very positive environment and a good place to come in and talk. My best friend was in the program and she really loved it,” Nas said.
It wasn’t long before Nas was experiencing all Liberty had to offer. She decided to apply at the end of her freshman year and officially joined in her sophomore year. Now, as a high school graduate, Nas would “one thousand percent” recommend Liberty to any student who is considering joining.
“The earlier you can start, the better,” she said.
Joining Liberty never meant that Nas had to limit her involvement in other school activities. She was able to be involved in Liberty and all kinds of extracurriculars throughout high school – from theater, choir, and show choir to basketball, soccer, softball, golf, and flag football.
Even with her busy schedule, Nas was still able to be active in planning and organizing the Liberty community events she wanted to be involved in. “I was still very involved even if I couldn’t always be physically present,” she said.
One place Nas was almost always physically present? The Liberty classroom, where she ate lunch with friends nearly every day. “It’s a great place to be able to build a lot of positive relationships while at the same time learning how to work with other people and get the best out of you that you can,” she said.
While the Liberty classroom was a safe environment to have fun, she said it wasn’t all goofing off. They were still there to “make sure we all do what we need to do to be successful” – whether that meant catching up on their own homework or helping each other with assignments.
She grew close to Leah Best, the Liberty counselor who joined Johnson City High School during Nas’s senior year. But, for the first two years of Nas’s time in the program, the Liberty counselor at Johnson City High School was Bernardo Cruz. She said Bernardo became like a father figure to her.
With Bernard’s guidance, Nas learned the importance of responding to stressful situations patiently and rationally. She said Bernardo helped her understand that she can still be the best version of herself even when she doesn’t feel like the best version of herself.
“I definitely think I grew a lot as a person through that program,” she said.
Those positive relationships – with both mentors and peers – gave her the skills and confidence she uses to navigate post-grad life. “I think one of the biggest things in high school is that you’re learning a lot about yourself, you’re getting closer and closer to getting into the real world and your real life,” she said.
While Nas is currently considering a career in the trades, she’s also studying early childhood education at Broome County Community College while working as a teacher’s assistant at the before-and-after school program at Chenango Forks Elementary School.
“I think the program sets you up perfectly to kind of start making headway and learning about yourself and learning about the real world.”