Ja'Dir Greer Turner

Ja’Dir Greer-Turner was slightly hesitant about applying and attending college after graduating high school.  

When I attended Beloved Community High School, I worked part-time: I helped out in the IT department, and I was the Esports captain for my school. And then, I played football for Irvington Public Schools, so I never really applied myself in classes. Like, I was in class but not in class.

I felt like going to class was going to be a challenge because a lot of people told me that college is no joke. And from what I saw from a lot of different people that were in college, they were either going through some struggles or doing really well. Some people who play football with me told me that, like, college is something that you really need to take seriously if you're trying to improve and start your career. 

However, thanks to some advice from his college counselors, Darren Harper and Madeline Bautista, as well as his sister – a Criminal Justice senior who was a part of the Educational Opportunity Fund – Ja’Dir decided to give Stockton University a try. He applied for and was accepted to the EOF Summer Academy, a five-week experience that introduces first-year students to life as University students.

One lesson I learned during the Academy was always to ask people for help and to communicate because you don't know how many connections you can make in college. Throughout my time here, I learned that, basically, connections could get you a long way and that you always have, like, a family with you. I also learned to stay on top of my classes, too, like in my grades, because if you miss one assignment or you even miss one day, it can really impact you heavily.

For students thinking about joining the EOF program, I would say to join because, as I said before, they're like a family and when you're, like, a shy person or you're trying to meet new people like you, EOF is definitely the way to go.

The most memorable parts of the Academy, for me, were playing volleyball, going to the gym and playing basketball with different people because I wasn't expecting to talk to and meet that many people already in college.

In addition to keeping all of the unexpected connections that he’s made so far in just a couple of weeks, Ja’Dir is looking forward to different opportunities in the Fall now that he’s officially a first-year Osprey.

I’m looking forward to Criminal Justice courses. I want to experience a class about law, especially. I've been, like, learning certain parts of the law, but there are ones that, you know, can get boring, but I’m still going to seek it out and learn more about it because I never know when I might need it.

As for clubs, I joined Stockton because of the Esports group here.

I talked to the developer, and I told them that, basically, it was like a fight between Stockton and Mount Saint Mary’s University – from whom I got an admissions offer – because they were going against each other in the playoffs. Stockton won, so I chose Stockton and let the team know that, because I have a lot of connections with different gaming software, I'm going to try to help out when it comes to the keyboards and all that stuff like that. For right now, I’m trying to be a player for the “Valorant” team and probably go for the game manager or captain position in my senior year.

Ja’Dir doesn’t just want to play in the games – he plans to capture it as well.

I’m excited to experience basketball games and different sports because I'm a photographer. I started taking pictures for my high school, and then I started taking pictures for the other high schools in Jersey City. 

Overall, Ja’Dir considers the EOF Summer Academy an invaluable experience.

I’m, for sure, going to use what I’ve learned from the Academy for (my) first year here. I know I'm probably going to need help, like with some classes. And I know I have my professor who was there teaching me math, so I'm probably going to go to him for help with Quantitative Reasoning.

For students thinking about joining the EOF program, I would say to join because, as I said before, they're like a family and when you're, like, a shy person or you're trying to meet new people like you, EOF is definitely the way to go.

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