ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Friday, more than 150 high school seniors from throughout the U.P. visited Bay College for “Bay is the Way Day.”
“Today is college all squished into a couple hours,” said Jessica Beaver, director of admissions at Bay College. “We start the day off with learning about what it’s like to apply, how college is different than high school, and what it means to go to a community college.”
Students got a rundown of the essentials, from securing financial aid to selecting which field of study is right for them. Then, they experienced a college setting first-hand.
“Seniors got to pre-register and let us know what it is that they’re interested in studying and we do our best to match them with faculty,” Beaver said. “They actually get to sit in a college classroom, hear from a college faculty member, and learn about what the program is like in that kind of environment.”
Programs included Accounting, EMT care, Forest Technology, Engineering, and Water Resource Management.
Speakers also told students about the various paths students can take when pursuing higher education.
“They might want to take a gap year, or maybe they just want to take a couple classes,” said Beaver. “Maybe they really want to get their associate’s so they can take that degree and bring it with them to a four-year institution. Success looks different for everybody.”
Above all, Beaver says Bay College wants seniors to know Bay College cares about them and wants to help them achieve success, regardless of where they end up.
“Senior year is tough,” she said. “The pressures of life start to get a little real. Today, we want to give them the tools and some nuggets of information that they can take with them so that when they are ready to make their decision about where they want to go, they know they can come and talk to us if they have any questions or need more support.”
For more information on programs available at Bay College, click here.