College and Career Center’s annual college fair showcases post-graduation pathways

Bayli Ferris, Staff Writer • Mar 12, 2024

Midwest Technical Institute, Illinois Central College’s Agriculture and IT programs and Saint Francis Medical Center’s College of Nursing were among the programs represented at the far.

The College and Career Center hosted its annual College Fair for the junior class on March 12 in the auditorium, with representatives from nearly 45 schools attending.

With representatives from trade schools, community colleges, four-year universities and the armed forces, College and Career Counselor Mrs. Karrin Hawkins said, “There was sure to be something for everyone.”

The fair is just one of the ways the CCC helped support students in planning for life after high school graduation.

Before the junior class had the opportunity to visit the over 40 booths, representing trade schools, NROTC and various college and universities, Mrs. Karrin Hawkins provided the students with some tips for starting the post-high school process. Among them, adopt a professional email address to contact and communicate with perspective schools.
Local schools like Bradley, Illinois Wesleyan, Illinois State University and Heartland were in attendance; along with smaller Illinois schools like Augustana, Eureka, Milikin and Olivet. Out of state schools, like Grand Canyon University, Mississippi State and Missouri State were among some of the out of state schools at the fair.

“Every student needed to find their fit,” Hawkins said.

“The March date for the fair,” Hawkins said, “was to allow students to potentially fit college visits into their spring break plans.”

For students considering college, Hawkins said, junior year is when students should “start putting their feet on campus,” whether they are vacationing or “staycationing.”

“Start making those visits,” Hawkins said. “Even if it was ISU, Wesleyan, Heartland…”

Visiting local campuses, the CCC counselor said, provides students with something to compare other college and university campuses to.

While visiting potential schools is important, Hawkins understands this isn’t a realistic possibility for all Community students considering post-high school education.

“Not everybody can get out to go talk to a college rep,” Hawkins said, “so let’s bring them in.”

By bringing those repreentatives in, juniors were able “to bring their questions…directly to those schools and programs, …to the people there who lived it every day.”

The fair’s also a chance for college representatives, who Hawkins said were likely to be the first people to look at students’ applications, to put a name to a face.

The fair, Hawkins hoped, would “light a fire” in juniors to start thinking about their future.

The nearly 50 representatives offered a variety of post-college options and programs.

“I felt like they all wanted Normal students,” Hawkins said. “We sent the schools good students.

Representatives from Illinois’ state schools, as well as nearby larger schools like the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri, were in attendance.

Beyond that, the fair didn’t feature many other large schools, as they didn’t need to recruit students the same way smaller schools did, Hawkins said.

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About the Contributor

Bayli Ferris, Staff Writer

Bayli Ferris is a senior at Normal Community High School where she's involved in clubs such as Generations Connect and Younglife. This is her first year as an Inkspot staff writer. I like Phoebe Bridgers, ice cream and warm weather. On the weekend I like to get coffee with my dad and hang out with friends. My favorite movie is “The Edge of Seventeen.”