COLLEGE GUIDANCE
MAKING THE COLLEGE CONNECTION
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OPENING DOORS-BUILDING SKILLS-FORGING RELATIONSHIPS By Elizabeth Hill, Academic & College Counselor
College travel season is a thrilling and exhausting marathon experience for everyone: from the representatives who spend weeks on the road going to school after school, fair after fair; to the students who begin the travel season bright-eyed and excited to learn about new schools; to the counselors who juggle ever-changing schedules and changing faces. Travel season is brimming with contrasts: the new and the familiar, the constant and the dynamic. It’s a challenge in so many senses, but it’s a happy one at the same time. From September until Thanksgiving, LRCA, like high schools across the nation, opens its doors for high school juniors and seniors to meet with representatives from colleges near and far. In the 2020-2021 school year, all visits were relegated to the virtual world since our campus was closed to visitors. Most colleges kept their staff at home. From the experiences of last year, we hoped to return to face-to-face time with schools, but we also saw the utility in offering some virtual visits that allowed students to interface with schools that either might not be able to travel to Arkansas or may want to visit but not be traveling to our state this year. Throughout this semester, we constantly felt the 12 THE WARRIOR • WINTER 2022
affirmation of this hybrid model in meeting with new schools and reestablishing relationships with others. The essential purpose of these visits is the sharing of information. Institutions share facts and updates about themselves, while students have the opportunity to ask questions and share their contact information. Our office sees a much richer picture though. Rather than simply exchanging information, travel season is a multi-faceted exercise for students, but also for LRCA. Yes, it’s still information, but it’s also about relationships, soft-skill development, and hospitality. For our office, it’s about doing the little things well in a way that gives glory to God. If we, both counselors and students, are faithful in these small things, we have the real and sincere opportunity to extend the grace and value of the Gospel to all those who stop by for a visit. What are these small things? We strive to have students fill the seats in every meeting. First and foremost because this process is for them, so we encourage them to own it, but also because some reps may go to a series of schools and not have students come to their meetings. Knowing
