5 minute read
Making the College Connection
By Elizabeth Hill, Academic & College Counselor
CCollege 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 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
our students allows us to suggest schools that students would benefit from learning about. We encourage students to not miss these opportunities with representatives who they may not ever meet otherwise. Learning about a wide variety of schools helps our students push past preconceived notions about colleges and get a more real understanding of what schools have to offer.
We also let the students represent themselves and the school. Each year we get praise and feedback on the way our students attend these meetings, with common refrains that include that they are never on their phones, they listen well, they research schools, they ask questions, and they carry themselves like adults. This intentional soft-skill development is designed to build student confidence ahead of interview season and empower students to take the reins on communicating with colleges. We also encourage students to engage in the practice of handwriting thank you notes to these reps to infuse the practice of business with that of kindness and gratitude.
Lastly, we aim to serve the reps well through hospitality. Each rep who visits our campus leaves with a gift from our department. This year we partnered with LRCA alum David Rice ‘00 and Bramble Market to provide a sampling of local goods including Leivas’ coffee, Arkansas honey, a local spice blend, and lip balm from Walnut Valley Honey Company. We hope that this gesture gives them insight into who we are, and that they leave feeling appreciated and refreshed by their time on our campus.
This spring we look forward to welcoming more representatives back to campus and investing the classes of 2023 and 2024 more fully into the process.
The SCOIR College Admissions Network
Seniors weigh in on how LRCA’s free resource has impacted their college search and lessons learned through the process. (Scoir is an Irish Gaelic verb that means phase transition.]
Isabella Adeola - “SCOIR provides easily accessible information for every college in the country and some abroad. It provides incredibly large amounts of information and helps me stay organized. You’ll never regret being organized, because the application process can get overwhelming. Utilize every resource you have!”
William Roach - “Success will never make you content or fully happy. There are some people who have everything and are miserable. Others are poor and joyful. The goal of college isn’t to just work, create, and build; it’s to explore God’s creation in whatever way you are called whilst still giving God all your attention, commitment, and love.”
Ella Scheer - “I’ve been really interested in out-of-state schools with great musical theatre programs. SCOIR has definitely helped me stay organized and on top of everything. Some colleges also upload virtual tours on SCOIR which has helped me get a feel for the campuses.”
SPRING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS
• March 31 - CAPS College Fair - LRCA students are invited to attend a college fair at UA Little Rock, hosted by a consortium of Central Arkansas private schools.
• Alumni Career Panels will be offered through the spring. LRCA alumni share with current students about jobs in high-interest career fields.
• April 22 - Junior Workshop Day - This event equips juniors with details about the college application timeline and sets them up for a successful senior year.
• May 2 - Academic Decision Day - The senior class is celebrated at this yearly event in which students share their college decisions.
Academic & College Counselor Matt Foster with UCA Nursing School representative and Warrior alumna Rachael Rainey ('19) and her brother Ryan Rainey ('22)
