Organizers of the DuPage County NAACP’s college fair say they are using their experience from the past five fairs to make this year’s event even better than the rest.
Event co-Chairwoman Joy Bowling said what makes the sixth annual College & Career Fair different from others is that it is inclusive. “We draw students from 12 to 19 different school districts,” she said.
“Last year at Waubonsie Valley High School, we had 800 online registrants and more than 300 that did same-day registration. We hope to have at least 1,200 students and parents attend this year’s fair,” Bowling said.
The DuPage County NAACP tries to move the fair around the Fox Valley to allow families throughout its service area of DuPage, Kane, Kendall and Will counties to attend. This year it is hosted by Glenbard Township High Schools District 87 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Aug. 27 at Glenbard South, 23W200 Butterfield Road, Glen Ellyn.
The event gives students and their parents the opportunity to meet with recruiters from major Illinois colleges and universities — Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Northern Illinois University and North Central College — as well as representatives from historically black colleges and universities.
District 87 Superintendent David Larson said the one-on-one contact with a college recruiter helps students in their search.
“Some students will have the opportunity to visit four or more colleges and universities prior to making a selection, but many students simply will not have that opportunity,” Larson said.
“Bringing multiple colleges and universities to the students provides a unique opportunity for students to hear firsthand from an expert why they would be a great fit for a particular college or university. The student also has the opportunity to discover through individual conversations why a particular college or university may not be a good fit. This is the kind of revelation that happens one on one.”
In addition, the fair will feature a series of presentations targeted for students in both middle school and high school.
Mike Childress, president of the DuPage County NAACP, said this year several major corporations will participate in a new workshop on corporate paid internships.
“We added this because we have a number of students who are not aware that post their freshmen year in college, if their GPAs are strong, many corporations offer summer internships so that the organization can see and experience the available talent for possible future employment,” he said.
Participants also will get the chance to learn about international careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics from two scientists in their fields.
“We are very fortunate to have as presenters from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, world-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Bobby Kasthuri and physicist Dr. Maria Chan. Both will discuss the twists and turns that led to their extraordinary careers, which has taken them around the world many times over,” Childress said.
He said the seminar on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, was absent last year due to a technical error; this year two representatives will attend the fair.
The most popular break-out session for parents in the past has been on the topic of scholarships, said Tamar Patterson-Ovedje, DuPage County NAACP Youth Works chairwoman.
“About 600 attendees were in this session last year. It is such a strong draw that we use it to kick off the workshops,” she said.
This year’s session presented by Northwestern University and United Negro College Fund will focus on 400 available scholarships.
Patterson-Ovedje said students also are drawn to the workshops where college students talk frankly about their college experience and what it takes to be successful. She said for prospective college students, the session helps take away the anxiety and mystery of college life.
“This session is always packed, so this year we plan to put it in a larger venue which holds 300,” Patterson-Ovedje said.
Event co-Chairwoman Maria Curry-Nkansah suggests children begin conversations with colleges when they’re in middle school.
“My recommendation to parents is to start the process at least by the eighth grade so that their child understands why they need in some instances to take honors and AP classes as well as get involved in clubs and sports,” said Curry, a member of the school board in Indian Prairie School District 204 and chief operations officer for the physical science and engineering directorate at Argonne National Laboratory.
“I started looking at colleges and universities with my daughter when she was in the seventh grade with visits to University of North Carolina and University of Michigan. The information that she heard on those visits about academic and social requirements helped her to be deliberate in her selection of high school courses and extracurricular activities,” Curry said.
With her daughter now in her senior year, Curry said they’ve visited four additional schools and that her daughter is confident about which school she wants to attend.
For more information about the fair, contact Bowling at 630-605-4576 or joybowling@att.net.
After the fair, DuPage County ACT-SO/Junior ACT-SO will host an orientation session from 2 to 4 p.m. to introduce students to the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics. It is an academic mentoring and enrichment program that provides career exploration and a competition in 27 categories encompassed by the sciences, humanities, business, performing arts and visual arts.
Interested students should go to www.dupageact-so.org to register and obtain more information.
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