This article was written by Trevor Porter
Colleges are out and about, scouting out high schoolers to recruit for their upcoming semesters. Juniors and seniors are on the lookout for colleges that fulfill their needs. This process of finding and applying to colleges takes time for students and the clock is ticking.
As upperclassmen near the end of their high school experiences, students need to start looking for colleges, but it can be tricky finding where to start. Around the high school, there are tons of resources to help find a game plan for their future. The college tours are posted up in the counseling office and run all school year.
Counselors can help find colleges that are comfortable, a career that suits you, and many more useful tools for creating a successful future for students. Dean Lazowski, a counselor and an organizer of college tours, has been around for 3 years, helping out with advertising these tours and setting up students for a great future after high school. Lazowski is preparing seniors for college by showing them what they will expect, and what students learn from these tours.
“They’ll get to learn about academic programs,” Lazowski said, “Knowing what a normal day is like for a college student on the average Tuesday.”
Lazowski sees the importance of college tours and how they impact final decisions. He recognizes it is a big decision with a lot of factors, so he makes sure students feel prepared and comfortable to make that choice.
“Anything you can do to be more aware of what college life is like is helpful to making decisions when it comes time to pick,” Lazowski said.
Sarah Gammans, another counselor, has been part of the counseling staff for 16 years, assisting the students who don’t have confidence for college. Gammans makes sure students learn from college representatives who operate these tours by helping students every step of the way and giving them confidence to take the next step.
“Oftentimes, they’ll talk about the academic programs that they have, along with the support that they have for students,” Gammans said, “There’s a lot more support at the college level than there is at the high school level, they have whole departments that help students be successful on campus.”
Students see the benefits of college tours just as much as the counselors. Senior Corbyn Hutson has gained a lot of information about GRCC on his tour.
“The professionalism, and the staff were really nice to us,” Hutson said, “They did advertise that there’s a two-year free college, and I like that.”
Junior Gavin McPheron is also considering GRCC after his tour. McPheron wants to feel comfortable with the professors and their styles of teaching, plus the overall atmosphere of the college.
“You can see the aspect of how different colleges are arranged and their environments,” McPheron said, “ What type of people they are, and how they teach and all that.”
As seniors close in on the end of high school, the focus shifts into college. These tours help take the next big step in careers and your future.
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