On March 5, Hamburg Area High School took juniors to Alvernia University where a college fair was held. At this fair there were representatives from over 100 colleges to talk with students and answer any questions they had. Along with Hamburg there were 16 other local high schools in attendance. There was a wide variety of colleges, technical schools, and medical schools to accommodate most post-secondary plans for students. This was a great opportunity for juniors to ask questions and connect with representatives from local universities which will be helpful in planning their future.

     Hailey Quinn, a junior who attended this fair, says the experience was beneficial. She made the decision to go on this trip because she felt that it was a good opportunity to talk to and connect with possible colleges and hopefully learn more about them. Learning new things about potential colleges was something that Hailey looked forward to on this trip. On this trip Hailey was hoping to learn information that would lead her in a more specific direction. She did not have many expectations ahead of time, but when she first arrived it was overwhelming seeing all the students and representatives there. After walking around a few times, Hailey started talking to colleges who were very kind and helpful. In the end, Hailey got to talk to five colleges. She does wish she talked to more colleges since she spent some time in the beginning walking around, but she did speak to the representative from Lycoming College which piqued her interest. Lycoming offers an archaeology major, which is the major Hailey is considering at this time. The representative for Lycoming actually majored in archaeology, and it was nice for Hailey to talk to someone who majored in the subject she is interested in. When talking to the Lycoming representative Hailey also found out there are dig sites near campus and many research opportunities. Hailey found out this was common at a lot of colleges which made her more confident that archaeology is something she could pursue. This field trip was very beneficial as Hailey was able to connect with colleges and people without having to go to each individual campus or connect virtually. Juniors in the future should take advantage of this opportunity because even though thinking about the future and college is scary, for everyone including Hailey, it is still an important step and this is a great tool to make that easier. For anyone considering attending in the future, Hailey recommends doing research ahead of time since there are so many schools there and there is only about one hour to walk around.

     Another junior in attendance, Madison Redding, also had a good experience at the college fair. Madison decided to go on this trip because she was interested to see what different colleges had to offer. Going to a school out of state is something Madison has already decided she wants. Luckily, there were a few schools like the University of Vermont and the University of Connecticut that she could talk to. The experience was very helpful as it helped her learn important information and it also encouraged her to pursue film and media, one of her passions. Madison got to talk to around five schools and two that stuck out to her the most were the University of Vermont and Stevenson University. She knew that going out of state for college was something she definitely wanted, but this experience helped her realize that she is more interested in going north for college rather than south like she originally thought. Madison recommends that juniors in the future take advantage of this opportunity as it can be beneficial in planning for the future.