On September 18, 2024, AHS hosted the 2024 college fair for students in the surrounding area to help students look towards future schooling they may take. It was one of many host sites for the Iowa ACAC college fair; information tables for the 41 colleges were spread out in the high school commons and gymnasium so students could interact with as many as they chose without overlapping one another.
Two schools at the college fair focused on cosmetology, which caught the attention of many students, including senior Nia Stufflebeam. Stufflebeam intends to attend a cosmetology school, but “I mainly want to focus on hair,” she said. Stufflebeam said, “I feel like [the college fair] is a great opportunity for some students.” The college fair allows students to look at a variety of schools and “it can be very helpful,” Stufflebeam said.
Office Advisor Gina Honke helps arrange the college fair each year. “I think it is helpful to the students because they have the opportunity to talk to a lot of different colleges about lots of different things,” Honke said. Atlantic has been hosting the college fair for over 20 years, and “we do the college fair each year because we feel like it does benefit our students and students in the area.” Throughout the year, Atlantic also hosts individual college representatives in order to have students look at specific colleges. Each college experience can be different, but what makes it yours is “your student mindset,” Honke said.
Senior Nick Anderson is deciding on his future goals at the college fair. Anderson said, “I think that the college fair is a great opportunity, especially for juniors and seniors who are undecided in their education.” Anderson plans on majoring in chemistry in college and used the college fair to help him decide where to pursue that education. “I talked to some of these colleges here and honestly it went really well. I got a lot more information than I could find online,” he said.
The college fair is hosted each year in order to encourage students to engage in and look forward to their futures after graduation. It is an opportunity for students to plan ahead and begin applying for schools as seniors in high school.
