With the end of high school coming near and the rise of new opportunities and decisions to be made, it can leave juniors and seniors feeling stressed and overwhelmed. 

However, there are resources, like the St. Michael's College Fair, to help guide students through this process, thus cutting down on the stress.

The school field trip to the college fair was set up and organized by Mr. Cummins, Proctor Jr/Sr High School’s new guidance counselor. The trip included a tour and a college fair in the gym where students could go up to college representatives’ booths and ask questions and gain information on the colleges.

If you were interested in colleges you could have the rep scan your QR code that would let them know who you are and that you're interested. At the fair there were over 100 colleges with booths, including some from as far as Florida. 

“I was intrigued with the opportunity to view a nearby college and see what opportunities that each nearby college had to offer,” Junior Mason Brothers said.

“I was surprised at the number of colleges that were going to be at the fair,” Senior Aaron Brock said.

“My biggest hope was that students would have the opportunity to find a school or program that would make them think outside of their "norm" or consider additional opportunities for their futures,” Cummins said.

There were many colleges that showcased their extracurricular activities outside of sports. The use of extracurriculars is very important to Mr. Cummins.

“Students have a substantial amount of free time while at school and to fill it with activities or hobbies within their community helps students grow, flourish, and find passion,” Cummins said.

He listed examples of extracurricular programs such as Castleton's Habitat for Humanity, University of Maine at Farmington-Lawn Chair Pirates Improv, and New England College- WNEC Radio Station as good opportunities.

The trip was attended by 25 students as well as Mr. Cummins and Mr. Hill as chaperones. Mr. Cummins believed that one of the most important things that came out of the trips was the knowledge of options available. 

“You have options available all over the world, but finding them can be a challenge. In the words of the great Billy Strings ‘All I know is everything I've learned,’" Mr. Cummins said.

The trip overall seemed to have a positive outcome and looked to be a success. The students were well behaved as well as the opportunity to learn more about the world was a success in itself. The number of schools gave students a lot of options and insight to influence their upcoming decisions.

The tour portion of the trip was presented to multiple schools at once with one speaker which made it hard to hear what they were saying. The tour was also rather quick, only showing exteriors of buildings and talking briefly. Students preferred to see the interior as well.

The number of schools very much impacted students' views as they thought of where they might want to go next. In some cases, changing where they would want to go and altering their previous views. In others, enriching people's desire for colleges.

“Prior to the trip I was most interested in UVM and Siena, after the trip UVM still stuck out because it is local and has good programs,” Brock said.

“The trip didn't really shape my views in any way because I already had my mind set on college and going to Clinton, so the trip was basically just reassuring me of my decision,” Senior Noah Johnson said.

As students looked into their college choices they tended to list location, cost, and opportunities as top priorities during their search.

“I know that some colleges don't offer the program I'm interested in so that made a huge difference, the housing situations at the colleges were important as well,” Johnson said.

Students left the trip with more options and were sent off more prepared for their future.