Rocket News – Research continuously shows the importance of starting college and career planning and awareness in middle school. According to Oregon University’s Gear Up project, early exposure to a college campus makes a difference in getting students interested in attending college, especially for rural students who have little opportunity to visit colleges.
In 2016, Wisconsin added Academic and Career Planning standards that help schools plan appropriate goals and events for students beginning in middle school. The first part of that goal involves exploring careers and pathways. In order to start and understand which jobs require four year college degrees, Spencer seventh grade students attended UW-Stevens Point to learn about the programs available there.
The UWSP campus visit took place on Friday, May 11. Students listened to a presentation called “Finding the Right Fit” from Allison Ward, a UWSP admissions counselor, and they had a chance to ask questions about how to get into college, what programs of study are available, and what to expect in a college classroom. After the presentation, we went off in smaller groups with student ambassadors for a walking tour of the campus.
Kids were very interested in hearing the college student perspective about college life. Another highlight of the visit was a trip to the Allen Blocher Planetarium in the Science building for a presentation about the current night sky. For some of the kids, the biggest surprise of the visit was being inside of a resident hall and a real dorm room. Many students were amazed by the details of dorm living; though they definitely did not mind the idea of trading off a kitchen space in exchange for an entire food center like the DeBot Dining Hall where we ate lunch.
We ended the day with a stop at the university bookstore where students could see the many college textbooks and technology as well as buy some memorabilia if they chose to. This day helped our school reach the goal of giving students the opportunity to explore career options they may not have though or known about before.
Submitted by Heidi Much, Spencer Middle School Language Arts Teacher
The Rocket Newsletter
