Rep. Joe Crowley met with students in Corona on Tuesday to prepare them for the new school year.

Crowley handed out back-to-school bags, packed with school supplies, to about 150 middle-school students and their siblings.

Crowley said it's important to give students the tools they need to succeed.

"It's important for our young people going back to school, being prepared, being ready. And it also helps their parents maybe take a little of the pressure off if they have some supplies already,” Crowley said.

Students in attendance said they did like meeting the congressman but were also excited to starting the year off with some new supplies.

"I got my pencil case, which I will very much be using. I also got a notebook, folder, pack of looseleaf, which is very useful," said student Raelyn Edwards.

The students who received the bags are members of an after-school program, New York Junior Tennis and Learning, which seeks to develop the character of young people through tennis and education.