On Wednesday, February 7th, 2024, Morgan held an annual Into the Future college planning event. This event helps juniors start outlining post high school plans. Juniors got quality knowledge from panelists Daniel Teague from The University of Connecticut, Caitlyn Rubino from Salve Regina University, Israel Kabemba from Middlesex Community College, and Robert Wargo from Lincoln Technical Institute.
There were breakout sessions for juniors, providing lots of helpful information regarding how to write a college essay, SAT scores, financial aid help, and how to access academic support on college campuses. According to Morgan school counselor Joni Zdunczyk, “One session that was not attended which had low attendance and that one was accessing academic support on college campuses. That is if you have 504 or a disability. I don’t think a lot of families were aware that it could be so beneficial to them or could apply to them.” She was shocked and thought attending could help students in lots of ways. Overall, Mrs. Zdunczyk and the other Morgan school counselors thought there was a good turn out. 75 families and students attended!
Morgan junior Katie Nguyen attended Into the Future night and found the college essay session useful. She said the presenter was helpful and encouraging. The presenter encouraged Katie to create her own voice and to put herself out there. Katie was happy after hearing about writing a good quality essay and what colleges look for! Katie also attended the financial aid session and found that she was difficult to understand. She said,. “I went to the financial aid session, and she was not very helpful. She was just rambling on, but didn’t fully explain anything clearly.” Katie explained that the presenter expected the juniors to know what she was talking about. She did not elaborate clearly.
Every year, the Morgan counselors look to make this event in particular better than the year before. They love to hear from the students and families afterward. Mrs. Zdunczyk stated “We plan on getting feedback to tweak things for next year as we would for any event we put on. Our best feedback is our best tool to navigate those future events. We try to not keep things the same because we change due to the current changes and needs of families.”
Mrs. Zdunczyk is happy with the successful turnout and hoped students left with more confidence after talking to the panelists. Mrs. Zdunczyk also observed that lots of students were less stressed and relieved after attending the workshops. The Morgan counselors were able to connect with several families and students. Family outreach is their main goal as a department and communication with parents is vital for the post – secondary planning.
