Our Volunteers: Meet Tayvonne

Meet Tayvonne

Hey! My name is Tayvonne , I am a transfer student. I transferred from SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury, New York. My decision to transfer to UAlbany was because it was far away but still close to home  – well, closer to home. I’m from the Bronx , Uptown. This school is filled with Bronx haters, LOL,  but it’s okay because I know that it’s the best!

Albany is definitely a home away from home. It is a much quieter home. There are no parents or siblings screaming, just peace and quiet. Enjoying your peace as well as developing relationships with friends and mentors sounds like a pretty great way to split one’s time, and I have no complaints. I met my best friend at my old school but we came to UAlbany together and are currently living in the same room. She’s honestly one of the reasons I am able to stay calm at school . She is constantly trying to get us to go to things but then the grandmas in us want to come out and we don’t wanna go anywhere anymore. We are so alike sometimes it is scary.  I had her come to an event Project MyStory had and she said that she enjoyed the fact that we had students from a mix of grades there to share their experiences. Hearing an international student speak about their journey here at UAlbany  reminded her of the community we form at this university.

First I need to mention the wonderful people who run this organization, who help us by giving us events that fit into our schedules. They have helped us create a space where we can speak to one another and if we need help to find people who can help us , that can give us advice. I love when we can come together and share experiences with each other. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to join UAlbany Project MyStory. I’m an introvert and extrovert. I know it sounds a little crazy but you know exactly what I mean. There’s days I want to go to a party back to back and then there’s some day I just want to stay in my room.

We need a committed cadre of UAlbany students to facilitate our 3rd “I Am” Storytelling Conference for children in the Capital Region. If you are interested in serving, please contact Rachel Moody at ualbanymystory@gmail.com. 

Joining this organization is allowing me to be around people who feel the same as me. It’s helping me understand that I am not alone in my experiences , there is someone else living on campus going through the same thing in their major class, stressing out about tests, or even suite mate/roommate troubles. This is giving me the opportunity to hear from other students who might have gone through a similar situation as me and allows me to share my experience and possibly help them in a way or I could learn something from them. I believe we learn more through group discussion. It allows everyone to understand that sometimes it’s not easy but there’s people all around that want to help , or are there to talk to. Project MyStory creates an environment where we as students can come together to eat and mingle with one another , sharing our similar experiences and different solutions , learning new tricks. This is a great opportunity for any student that sometimes feels they aren’t sure what they want to do or for people who have a little trouble with home issues. There is such a variety of blogs posted from students that are a part of Project MyStory that even if you don’t relate in a serious way you can still get a laugh out of a funny blog.

Sometimes public speaking isn’t for everyone but this group allows us to interact on more of a personal level with one another before events and even after and there are little giveaways to students that makes the atmosphere feel warm.