Focus and diligence are qualities of nearly all high school seniors enrolled in Career & Tech's New Visions programs, which offer honors-level study and intensive exploration of five different professional career areas. If one were to describe Andria Bentley, a 2001 alumna of the New Visions: Law & Government program, the words quick study would also come to mind.

Bentley graduated from the University at Albany's Presidential Scholar program, where she studied Political Science.

The Colonie Central High School graduate, whose New Visions grades were always in the high 90s, was quickly employed in her field of choice. She works in State Senate Minority Leader David Paterson's press office in Albany, researching legislative issues, tracking news stories and press clippings and covering media events within the Legislature.

New Visions, according to Bentley, prepared her to meet college and career challenges head on, particularly through the internships arranged by Law & Government teacher Rich Bader. As an intern at Environmental Advocates, Bentley "was introduced to the wonderful world of advocacy work," which she pursued further as a board member and full-time lobbying intern at the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Bentley found her New Visions internship at the New York State Legislature, however, to be the most valuable. "There is no other way to completely learn the New York State Legislature without being thrown into it ," she related. "I now work in the state Senate with some of the same people I met working as an intern for Senator Daniel Hevesi in 2001."

All New Visions classrooms are based off-campus at businesses and locations related to the career area studied so students may be immersed in their fields. The Law & Government program classroom is located in downtown Albany within walking distance of the state Legislature, Capitol, state agencies and state and federal courts, all of which provide job shadowing and internship opportunities for students. New Visions programs are one-year long and are offered in Health Careers, Human Services & Special Education, Law & Government, and Public Communication. All offer students the opportunity to earn Advanced Placement credit and some offer college credit as well.

Serious students should seriously consider New Visions, according to Bentley. "I applied to New Visions because it sounded like a more focused alternative to senior year at my high school and more of a transition to college. The prospect of spending senior year with other students with similar interests was [also] really appealing."

Bentley related, "We were treated more like serious students who wanted to learn, and less like children than we had been at any other point in our education. Mr. Bader really helped us develop our interests, my internship placements were very well suited to me, and the people who I met at those internships have helped be with what I'm doing now. My life would be totally different if it weren’t for New Visions."

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Update: March 2006
Andria Bentley has continued working for State Senate Minority Leader Paterson and is now a student in the Rockefeller College Masters of Public Administration Program, Albany.