Even though Kayla Thomas is mailing her college application to Jacksonville State University this week, the Greenville High School senior picked up several more college applications at College/Career Day on Tuesday, Oct. 25 in the GHS auditorium.

&uot;I found information on some colleges in Alabama that I didn’t even know about,&uot; Thomas said.

Juniors and seniors from McKenzie High, Georgiana High and Greenville High School were able to talk with several college representatives, recruiters from all of the military branches and representatives from some of the area businesses as well. GHS counselor Pat McNaughton organized the event.

&uot;Some of our students may not have the opportunities or available transportation to get them to all of these different post-secondary institutions, so we invite them to come to us,&uot; McNaughton said.

The different military branches and most colleges request information about the extracurricular activities students participate in throughout the year, according to McNaughton. The different institutions use this information for recruiting students before and after graduation.

&uot;We appreciate all of the representatives who came out today to talk with our students,&uot; McNaughton said. &uot;We thank them for taking time with the kids and for trying to help prepare them for their future.&uot;

Even though it is only October, Thomas knows that graduation will be here before she knows it.

&uot;I just took the ACT Exam this past Saturday for the third time,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;I want to major in Secondary Education/English. Jacksonville State is considered one of the top education colleges in the state of Alabama. That’s why I want to attend there.&uot;

Thomas is presently taking Advanced Placement (AP) English with Virginia Stallings, and she took AP English during her junior year with Michelle Johnson. Since Thomas is in the school-to-work program, she leaves after 5th period to work in Cambrian Ridge’s pro shop.

&uot;I liked the opportunity to meet all of the representatives here today,&uot; she said.

GHS senior Tara Gibson picked up a leadership scholarship to the University of North Alabama.

&uot;That’s where I want to go after graduation because the classes are smaller, so the student/teacher ratio is better than at some bigger schools,&uot; Gibson said.

She wants to major in journalism, either print or broadcast media, and she is the editor of GHS’s newspaper, The Tiger Journal, this year.

&uot;In the tenth grade, Ms. Molly Smith really influenced my decision about my college major,&uot; Gibson said. &uot;She taught me a lot about working behind the scenes with the camera, and she taught me a lot about writing, too.&uot;

Gibson has sent college applications to several different colleges, such as Huntington and Jacksonville State, but she said that she is mostly focusing on the University of North Alabama. She said that if several colleges accept her applications, she would get Tomesha Cheeseboro, 11th and 12th grade GHS counselor, to give her advice on what to do.

&uot;The college fair gets better every year,&uot; Gibson said. &uot;They keep improving everything.&uot;

Among the many college representatives at the college fair was Cary Watkins, admissions counselor for Alabama A&M University.

&uot;This is my first year coming here,&uot; Watkins said.

He has been an admissions counselor for the last three years, and one idea that he wants to impress on the juniors and seniors is that there is more to the world than just what they see immediately around them.

&uot;There are more universities out there than just Alabama and Auburn,&uot; he said.

Watkins brought information on scholarships, admission applications, financial aid and ROTC information. He already has ideas about how to improve next year’s college fair.

&uot;I’d like to bring representatives of nontraditional majors, such as food science and forestry,&uot; Watkins said. &uot;We can offer additional scholarships with federal money that is earmarked for these nontraditional courses, so maybe we could draw students to these fields. The most important thing to me, though, is that kids go to college somewhere.&uot;

With plans to major in forensic science, GHS senior Candace Sturgeon is most interested in Alabama A&M.

&uot;I found out that I can get a minor in forensic science and then continue my education in biology and get a medical degree all at Alabama A&M,&uot; Sturgeon said.

She enjoyed the representatives who were sent to the college fair because they were all very friendly.

&uot;If the representatives and recruiters are boring, I don’t like to talk with them because it’s not as interesting.&uot;

Sturgeon said that not only should more colleges have come to the college/career day, but she wished more businesses had come as well.

&uot;The military always has good representatives and lots of information available,&uot; she said. &uot;They’re good at recruiting. Everyone had some kind of scholarship to offer, and that’s the really good part about this whole event.&uot;