When three Watervliet High School seniors – who graduate later this week – head off to college in the fall, they will have the technology necessary to succeed thanks to the Watervliet Housing Authority (WHA) and the generosity of area businesses and community sponsors.

Graduating seniors Chance Fosmire, Larissa Sowter and Nathaniel Martin received the laptops as a result of working hard toward their goals to successfully complete high school and pursue higher education at a two- or four-year college. Chance will attend Siena College to study business; Larissa has enrolled in the health sciences program at Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC), and Nathaniel will also attend HVCC this fall.

The Housing Authority started the “Laptops for Graduating Seniors” program several years ago with support from community sponsors to provide laptop computers for college-bound high school seniors who may not otherwise have the resources to purchase their own.  Since the program’s inception, the WHA has given upwards of 50 computers to students preparing to attend college. 

On Monday, June 20, Housing Authority Executive Director Matthew Ethier presented devices to a total of seven high school seniors from the Watervliet and Green Island communities during a ceremony held in the Charles A. Jeseo Meeting Room at the WHA’s Administrative Offices.

The only requirement expected by the Housing Authority is that laptop recipients complete at least one full year of college to keep the computer.

Special thanks to Ahmed Ali and his team of technicians from AIT Computers in Troy for equipping the laptops with software programs, including Microsoft Office Suite, that are essential for college-level course work.