All high schoolers feel the stress of the post-college question: What comes next? Luckily, Jackson-Reed has the College and Career Center, a place dedicated to helping alleviate this burden.
Run by College and Career Coordinators Elizabeth Levenson and Zuogwi Earl Reeves, the center is a great tool students can use when planning ahead. Whether it’s college rep visits, fairs, or presentations, the events the center sets up can be very helpful for Jackson-Reed students.
A major aspect of the center is hosting college representative visits. Every week in the fall, as seniors work through their applications, there are visits in the center from various colleges and universities. This can be a great way for students to learn more about specific post-secondary institutions. The representatives offer a lot: how housing works, what major extracurriculars the school offers, what the admissions process looks like, and more. They are truly walking encyclopedias of everything you may want to know about a college, making them a great resource for prospective students. The college rep schedule for each week can be found on the board outside of room 108A.
The center also sets up events throughout the year. One such type of event is college fairs. There have been two so far this year, hosted in the aux gym in the past couple weeks. On October 2, there was a college fair and on October 9 there was a HBCU fair. These events are great for students who may not know where to start and want to expose themselves to many colleges.
There are also college application presentations available to juniors and seniors. In April, the center will host a presentation for juniors on the college application process, followed by a presentation in September of their senior year that goes into more specific aspects of the process. They also hold presentations throughout the year about more specific application-related topics. In September, the center held a presentation on applying to UK schools, along with a presentation on college essays.
Although less popular than their other events, presentations on career paths are also hosted by the center. “75% of our students go to college. Many students want to explore other pathways,” said Levenson. If you’re interested in how to break into a specific career path, look out for these events in the near future.
Every day, the College and Career Center helps students look toward their future. For any students that need help with anything related to their lives after high school, stepping into the College and Career Center in room 108a can be a great decision. “Whatever their timeline is, whatever they want to research, we help them with whatever they need,” said Levenson.
