Time is moving quicker than lightning, and college time is approaching just as quickly for many high school students!
Some students may or may not have figured out what their plans are after graduating from high school and deserve an opportunity to explore new horizons for themselves. Elkhart High School consistently wants to lend a helping hand to their students, so they held a college fair to assist them in exploring new ideas for their future.
Elkhart High School’s College Fair took place on Wednesday, Sept. 27, from 8:45-10:45 a.m. in the ETI Fish Bowl. Juniors and seniors were given the opportunity to meet with an impressive selection of representatives from over 50 colleges around the area. A few of the colleges represented were the following: Ball State University, Earlham College, University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College, Indiana University Bloomington, and so many more! Students had smiles on their faces while meeting with the representatives at their designated tables. Junior Laylah Yoder expresses it this way: “The college fair is beneficial to those who attend. It gives students an opportunity to explore colleges—and what they may want to major in. Answering any questions students may have is important.”
Yoder goes on to say this: “It provides information about colleges and potential experiences, giving students an educated application process. But,” she adds, “the college fair could have been more organized, sending smaller groups of people with bigger time limits. These changes would allow students to be more familiarized with colleges, whilst being in small groups.” Administration adores receiving feedback from their students, so that they can collaborate to improve their events for the student body.
Yoder is not the only student who feels this way about the college fair. Junior Sophia Grubbs agrees. “Giving the students a little more time to explore what the colleges have to offer would’ve been beneficial.” Most juniors can agree with this statement. “The 20 minutes was not enough time, especially with the size of the groups coming to the ETI Building. I think it made it harder for students to meet with (almost) every college.” She includes, “I still think the college fair was great for exposure—and benefited many students. There were many colleges that people haven’t necessarily heard of. Students can discover if there are new things they can look into doing in the future…I would love to attend again! There may be different colleges that come next year, and I want to be able to visit more colleges next time that I couldn’t meet this year.”
Application time is nearing for seniors, so it was urgent that they attend the college fair this year. Senior Mardi Waits says, “A bunch of students don’t know what they want to do after high school, so having the option to see what these schools offer was great for students to figure that out.” Waits also agrees with the juniors, that 20 minutes was not enough, especially compared to the senior class getting 30 minutes. She continues, “It’s a big time difference when the representatives are talking to one person, and others have to wait in line, which is very time consuming for the students who must wait their turn.”
All in all, the college fair was a success for those attending, but there are a few improvements that can be put in place for the upcoming years so that this event can run smoothly. Elkhart High School wants its students to excel, whether it’s schooling or even a future career, so they want the experience to be worthwhile.
