At the Bend campus this past Friday nearly 400 hundred high school students from Central Oregon, including students from Corvallis and the Portland metro area, participated in Preview Day. An annual event where sample classes were offered to explore educational pathways at Central Oregon Community College. The event took place Friday, April 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
These students chose one of these eight different Educational Pathways:
- Humanities, Fine Arts, and Communication
- Business, Hospitality, Culinary
- Natural Resources
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM)
- Public Services and Emergency
- Social Sciences, Behavioral Science, and Education
- Transportation, Industrial Trades, and Apprenticeship
- Health Sciences
From these educational pathways students went to three sample classes which ranged from demonstrations to hands-on activities and more. After checking in, President Dr. Greg Pereira welcomed the students, then spoke to them about the benefits of attending a community college. He emphasized to “save the money” when going to college and encouraged students to complete their prerequisite classes at COCC or other community colleges. After the sample classes they had lunch that was provided by COCC to end Preview Day.
There was an optional tour of Wickiup Hall and an ice cream social for COCC students and those that chose to attend. Housing and Residential Life used this as an opportunity to introduce new staff members and resident assistants. Kate Donahue, who has been an administrative assistant at COCC for the past nine years, made a point to educate people on how to best use financial aid and scholarships to pay for housing as this is one of the largest audiences they get. Donahue explained that students should use their scholarship money to pay for classes first. Many scholarships only apply to classes, not to other student needs. If students receive financial aid they can use it towards student needs like housing.