This past April, the sophomore and freshman classes were granted an opportunity to visit nearby colleges while the juniors took the ACT. Both colleges, OCC and Frontier, provided the students with hands-on experiences and job explanations for anyone wishing to attend their colleges or any college in general.

The first part of the trip consisted of the freshmen touring Frontier while the Sophomores made their way to OCC. Later on in the day, they switched so each class could experience the same thing and proceeded to view the campuses.

Mrs. Massie, a supervisor for the College visit days, believes this was an excellent opportunity for the students to get a feel for college life. With this, she says, “you don’t have a feeling until you go see.” 

With many of the students uneasy about the thought of going through college, they later found it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Hayden Young states, “After viewing the campus and hearing of what it has to offer, the idea of college has begun to grow on me.” 

While each college presented a different style of explanations to the students, the kids could see different aspects that take place in the life of college students. Frontier showed more visual explanations with the science and nursing departments. OCC provided more in-depth explanations of the career paths that were available. However, both colleges created a good balance for teaching the students.

Mrs. Massie notes that it’s important for the students to hear and learn about college so they can better understand what it offers. She states, “It’s one thing to hear about it, and it’s another thing to experience it.” 

Another new activity that took place this year was mock interviews and career prep stations on April 9. Every underclassman was required to be a part of a mock interview and register for dual credit.

The mock interviews provide the experience students need to expect in the future. Mrs Massie states, “These students are at that point in life where they are looking for jobs.”

To meet state requirements and provide valuable life experience to students, FHS will continue the college visits and mock interviews in the future.