Starting from the beginning of September, the Career Center has been hosting college presentations, multiple times per week. Throughout the months of October to November, students will be able to attend the presentations to gain information about different colleges. During the college information sessions, students in all grades are welcomed to listen to specific college representatives talk about what their college has to offer and how the application process works.
The Career Center organizes the college presentations into a calendar for students to easily access through the Ayala website. Ranging from third period to lunch time, there is generally at least one college presentation a day.
“I’m on this website called Rep Visits and I put the availability of the Career Center, the rep goes in and clicks on [the system], sends me an e-mail, and then I just have to confirm that it’s available,” Mrs. Christina Danao, Career Center technician said.
From private colleges to public colleges such as University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the Career Center places emphasis on diversifying the colleges students are exposed to.
“Everyone wants to go to UCLA [University of California, Los Angeles], but there are a lot of smaller private schools that might be perfect for someone,” Danao said. “If students attend as many as they can go to, then they can kind of get a better picture of what they want.”
Majority of the students who attend the presentations are seniors as they are in the process of applying to colleges. The presentations act as a chance for students to engage with representatives in person and ask questions.
“It gives insight to what the different colleges have to offer and just like what to be ready for when applying for them,” Brian Ung (12) said.
However, many students are often unaware of the presentations the school offers, especially students who aren’t seniors.
“They should broadcast it more throughout the school, because otherwise I would have had no idea if Ms. Koenig hadn’t told us,” Ashlyn Kam (11) said. “I feel like they should definitely make it more known around the school, because a lot of people didn’t even know.”
Nonetheless, teachers and faculty have started encouraging more students to attend the college sessions to get a head start.
“I’ve noticed that seniors are the only ones who think about colleges, but I think you don’t have to be a senior to think about colleges,” Danao said. “You can start visiting schools even in middle school so you could start learning about them and kind of see how you like certain campuses.”
As October begins, the Career Center will continue hosting college presentations for students with hopes of preparing them for a bright future.
“From last year to this year, I think we’ve doubled so far and we’re not even past September yet so October’s pretty busy and I hope students continue coming,” Danao said.
