The Renton High School College and Career Center offers numerous and helpful educational opportunities for Renton High School students. They recently shared a fun, explorative and informative field trip for 11th and 12th graders to the NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) National College Fair. This occurred on October 25, 2024, at the Seattle Convention Center. RHS students networked with other schools who attended and learned about many different international and US colleges and universities throughout the event. Regardless if a student was clear on their career goals or not, they were able to learn about options they could possibly pursue after high school.
(Picture of students acquiring a NACAC National College Fair plastic bag and an informative pamphlet about the event.)
Prior to attending the field trip, 11th and 12th grade students were required to fill out an interest form, which asked those students, “What are your plans/goals after high school?” After filling out the form, if a student was selected to join the field trip, they would be given a confirmation slip and a field trip form a week before the event. Only about 20-30 11th and 12th grade students were selected to attend. On October 25th, students gathered in the RHS College and Career Center before 9am to begin preparing to go to this amazing event.
RHS students arrived at the NACAC National College Fair at around 10am. Office of Admission counselors, advisors, and actual students from the different colleges and universities, got to know students’ interests and talents to discover if a college or university would suit them for achieving their career goals. In addition, colleges and universities spoke about distinct highlights about their school to students and handed out flyers/pamphlets, information about scholarships, campus visits, business cards and plenty of other resources. Students also had the chance to sign up for emails or physical mail to earn updates about specific colleges they were interested in attending.
(Picture of students at different college and university booths at the NACAC National College Fair.)
One RHS senior student, Asia Risling-Lopez, mentioned, “the event was mind opening! As a senior, this year has been stressful so far because of the pressure of finding the right career and college fit for me. But the NACAC College Fair really helped relieve the bolder on my shoulders!” Asia found the field trip excessively helpful due to all the possible new pathways she discovered, including having found suited opportunities for herself, which stood out to her the most. “One specific quality I was looking for at the event was my career…Eventually, spending those 2-ish hours walking around, looking carefully through each booth, I found the right college fit for me,” she says. Primarily, the NACAC National College Fair made Asia realize that although her career goals might not work out as planned, there are an abundance of other pathways and opportunities that might be waiting for her to share her skills!
(Picture of students at different college and university booths at the NACAC National College Fair.)
After attending the event, RHS 11th and 12th grade students were most likely more proficient in answering the question that was on the interest form, “What are your plans/goals after high school?” After uncovering interesting and helpful options at the event, it was a wonderful learning experience for all RHS 11th and 12th grade students to in fact consider pathways and colleges and universities students might not have planned on before attending the event. Pay attention to updates, field trips, opportunities and other resources from our RHS College and Career Center to help you reach your best potential and achieve your future career goals.
Interviewee:
Asia Risling-Lopez
