Attending college can be a solitary experience. Suddenly, there isn’t a high school full of teachers and counselors laying out a path to follow, and parents in many cases are hours away.

“Once you step out of these four walls and these 5.56 square miles of Poughkeepsie, you’re now in a world where they expect it to be all on you,” Da’Ron Wilson, executive director of school engagement and the city’s councilperson-at large, told a room full of students earlier this month.

HBCUs, or historically Black colleges and universities, though, provide a different network of support than many other campuses. Professors also serve the role of mentors and advisers, encouraging a strong sense of community and personal guidance. That, he said, is the best thing about an HBCU.

“It’s not that you’re by yourself,” Wilson said. “You’re going to have professors, you’re going to have other students who look like you. … You become lifelong friends.”

Wilson was the keynote speaker on a panel event held at the Poughkeepsie High School library Feb. 19, in which five HBCU graduates discussed their college experience.

Roughly 45 students, several school leaders – and at least one parent – attended the after-school session, which extended beyond its scheduled 60-minute runtime as students asked questions.

The panel included Howard University alumni Adrian Bryant and Jonathan McPhee, Lincoln University alum Tom Hopkins and Virginia State grads Vizyion Wilson and Da’Ron Wilson.

The second-annual event was organized as a part of the Culture Shock club’s annual Black History Month Spirit Week, in association with the College Readiness and Workforce Education staff. Counselor Kelly Semexant and Culture Shock adviser Nashan Anderson guided the conversation and handed out a list of questions for attendees to be thinking about to shape their own questions to the panel.

There are 107 colleges across the country identified as HBCUs. While the conversation focused on the panelists’ experiences attending such institutions, much of the advice given regarding healthy learning habits and accountability were lessons any college-bound student should consider.

Da’Ron Wilson said he would not have accomplished all he has in life if he didn’t attend an HBCU. The schools, he said, instill a sense of empowerment and encourage identity formation.

“It lets you understand that you matter and you can make a difference in the world,” he told the students. “You get to see who you are. You get to see successful professors, successful people, successful business people who look like you and that you can identify with.”

In his opening address, he discussed some of the misconceptions regarding HBCUs, including that students of all races and backgrounds are welcome to attend, and graduation statistics.

“Thirty-three percent of students who go to HBCUs are more likely to graduate than students who go to PWIs, which are predominantly-white institutions,” Wilson said.

McPhee said it’s harder to drift through the cracks at an HBCU, and several panelists said they have stayed close with on-campus mentors years later.

“Because your advisers are typically also people who are teaching in your field, you’re sitting in a class under your adviser, who now knows you by name,” McPhee said. “It’s harder to be a nameless number. … You find, very, very quickly that sense of purpose, identity and people who are willing to push you toward those senses of purpose and identity.”

Despite that support, the panelists stressed HBCU professors will hold students accountable and may even be more strict with students who do not show up on time – which means showing up early on an HBCU campus – with the reading done and assignments turned in. Nobody, they said, is holding their hand and doors will get locked when a class begins.

That can be difficult, they said, as there always seems to be a party or celebration to attend.

“The shortcut is this: You can still party and get good grades, but you have to do the work first,” Bryant said. “If you do that formula, if you do the reading first and the work first, you can still find time to have a great experience.”

Student questions covered such topics as what the transition to attending college is like and what their relationships were like with campus staff who were not teachers.

The panel discussed HBCU graduates are part of a large fraternity of people who understand each other’s educational experience and the level at which they must have performed to graduate from their institution. Some mentioned hiring managers may be more likely to help a job candidate get an interview for an open position having that understanding. Bryant emphasized a main thing every Howard student learns is to not take “No” for an answer.

“When you meet another HBCU alum, it’s like a special connection immediately,” Bryant said. “It’s like, ‘OK, I see you.’ And, that can help. I’ve had it help in interviews, I’ve had it help on LinkedIn. … It’s something to consider.”

Bryant also shared information on how to access the Common Black Application, a singular application with a $20 fee to apply to more than 60 HBCUs.

Hopkins encouraged the students to pursue scholarship opportunities and to begin building a network of support now if they are interested in attending.

“Stay in contact with folks like us, who are looking out for you,” he said. “They’ll be able to direct you to where the money is. Even though an HBCU is less expensive, which it is, it can be even less expensive. Apply for everything.”