Published February 13, 2020
Nearly 160 high school juniors, mostly from Dodge City High School, attended the first-ever Junior Experience at the Dodge City Community College campus on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
The event kicked off at noon in the Student Activity Center with a catered Jimmy John’s box lunch and a special College 101 presentation, which gave juniors guidance about scholarships, financial aid and admissions. Following lunch, tours were given of the Tech Center and residence halls, with main campus tours beginning at 1:30 p.m.
“We are excited to host an event specifically geared to high school juniors,” Andrea Loll, director of marketing and public relations, said. “The idea for Junior Experience originally came from feedback we received last fall after hosting our first Senior Day in many years. In our analysis of that event, we realized that many high school seniors were actually starting to make college decisions as juniors.”
Junior Experience, unlike the longer and more comprehensive Senior Day, is designed to give students a quick snapshot of DC3 in about two and half hours.
“I think that the Junior Experience event is a great segue to the next step, which is Senior Day,” said Lewis Mize, DC3 director of enrollment management. “Junior Experience gives students, who may not know anything about DC3, a chance to get firsthand experience of the campus instead of just hearing about it. This also gives them a base knowledge they can take with them for Senior Day to ask those questions they really want to know the answers to.”
Tara Salmans, a counselor at DCHS, said she has heard nothing but good things about Junior Experience from her students.
“I believe more students will sign up for Senior Day at DC3, as well as enroll at DC3, because they are now more aware of what DC3 has to offer,” she said. “The relationship between DCHS and DC3 has improved dramatically. We are all working toward the same goal of doing what is best for kids.”
After campus tours, the event wrapped up at 2:30 p.m. with refreshments and prize giveaways in the Student Union cafeteria.
By Lance Ziesch