Clarke Central High School College and Career Advisor Cameron Garrett holds a flyer for the College Workshop in the Counseling Suite on Oct. 29. The workshop will be held for juniors and seniors in the Media Center on Nov. 4. “I hope (students are) able to be productive, maybe check one thing off their list, or just feel motivated that it’s going to be doable and that they have support going through the process,” Garrett said. Photo by Maypop Wren
CCHS’ Student Government Association will host a college readiness workshop for juniors and seniors in the Media Center on Nov. 4.
Clarke Central High School’s Student Government Association will host a College Readiness Workshop on Nov. 4 from 11 a.m. to noon and noon to 1 p.m.to help juniors and seniors navigate applications, essays and financial aid.
The workshop will have two sessions, from 11 a.m. to noon and noon to 1 p.m. Students will participate in a Kahoot with prizes and visit stations focused on building college lists, completing applications, brainstorming personal essays and receiving peer reviews. Volunteers will also assist with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the Georgia Student Finance Application.
CCHS Senior Class President Kayla Walker proposed the workshop as one of her goals during the SGA election interview process in April. Drawing from her own experience with college applications, Walker recognized the challenges students face when transitioning from high school assignments to college application requirements.
“(Students are) not exactly prepared to know how to write a college essay, (compared to) a high school essay,” Walker said. “That’s what I wanted to do with the workshop, it’s during school, so it wouldn’t have to be an extra responsibility to do outside of school.”
“A lot of students don’t have resources outside of school to help them along with the (application) process, or maybe their parents don’t know what that process is like.”
— Cameron Garrett,
CCHS College and Career Advisor
CCHS College and Career Advisor Cameron Garrett collaborated with the SGA to organize the event and recruit volunteers. Former CCHS College and Career Advisor Alejo Zayas will help students with financial aid applications, while Garrett and other volunteers will provide assistance with essays and applications.
“A lot of students don’t have resources outside of school to help them along with the (application) process, or maybe their parents don’t know what that process is like,” Garrett said. “The fact that we can provide it is pretty amazing. It makes it so much more realistic that they’ll be able to do all the steps needed to go to college, and that can be life changing to set them up for the rest of their life.”
With many regular decision college applications due in January, November gives students an opportunity to begin working on essays, reviewing application requirements and organizing financial aid materials before deadlines approach.
“Being prepared encourages (students) to finish the process and go through it.” Garrett said. “(The process is) too overwhelming that they don’t even want to start so I think preparedness helps with that, too.”
