Many students have a hard time deciding what they want to do after high school. To help them make that decision, Yutan held various events for Apply to College Week, which took place during the second week of October.
“It’s basically to create awareness in all grades seventh through twelfth about opportunities out there for you guys after high school. We want to introduce you to thinking about college. Is it in your future? Is it going to be a good choice for you, whether it’s a two-year school or a four-year school?” 7-12 counselor Missy Chvatal said.
Even though Yutan hadn’t had an Apply for College week in a couple of years, Chvatal felt it was an important part of her job.
“My job is to talk to you guys about your life after high school too and get you thinking about it,” Chvatal said.
One event Chvatal planned to help students learn more about their college options was hosting different colleges, such as Midland, Doane, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and even the Marines.
“I thought it was enjoyable and exciting to have all the colleges visit us. It was a great opportunity, especially for the seniors,” senior Reagan Wilson said.
Not only did colleges come to talk to the seniors, but the whole school got to play fun games. One of the games was a bingo game, where the students had to go around and ask teachers about things they may or may not have done in college.
“I thought the bingo was very fun, and I won a couple of prizes,” senior Tyler Royal said.
Chvatal also included the teachers with a door decorating contest, asking them to highlight their alma mater and college experiences. The two winners were science teacher Megan Encarnacion and STS teacher Brian Fitzgerald.
“At this end of the building, not many people get down here to see the door, so I mentioned it, and a few of my students decided to take a picture of me holding up some number one symbol by the door, and they posted it and sent it out to all the students saying, ‘Vote for Mr. Fitz’s door,’” Fitzgerald said.
Since the seniors are closer to making their college decisions, Chvatal had some specific activities for them to understand the process of applying for college.
“What she did to help us was by giving us worksheets about applying for colleges and what you have to do to apply to colleges,” Royal said.
As the week came to an end, Chvatal felt she accomplished what she hoped with not just seniors but planted a seed for younger students as well.
“I think it was a good start to build that excitement. I kind of said that was my main goal of doing it,” Chvatal said. “So I did have some more seniors stopping in to talk to me about what they wanted to do after high school, and I did hear from a couple of junior high kids that they had a great time with the games.”
