Administrative Assistant Karyn O’Beirn walked into the auditorium on Friday, October 10th, after she had planned for a representative from Quinnipiac to come in and speak to the students. O’Beirn, who expected around 25 students to show up, was greeted by six students instead. About 20 students had signed up but had not shown up, pointing to a growing concern from the guidance department that students aren’t taking advantage of programs offered to help them.

O’Beirn attempts to exploit the information about college visits as much as she can, but sometimes it’s still not enough. “It is definitely a struggle to get students to attend the presentations. We advertise on Naviance, the Weekly Blast, the TV’s, and there’s a list on the bulletin board in the Guidance Office. But sometimes a lot of students still are unaware of the visits, or don’t want to take the time out of their days to sign up,” O’Beirn reflected.

O’Beirn is the main contact person for college visits here at Morgan. “I organize the college visits, advertise the visits, and I welcome the representatives and introduce them to the students sitting through their presentation. I also ensure the important questions get answered,” O’Beirn explained.

From about the middle of September to the beginning of November, various representatives from colleges and universities come to The Morgan School to speak with juniors and seniors. Representatives are the admissions reps from that geographic territory. Reps that will be reading the applications we submit. This year, 42 colleges agreed to send representatives to our school.

“It’s so important to attend the presentation of the colleges that you are interested in because not only are the representatives that show up the ones who will be reading your college applications, but you will also get the rare chance to learn more about the individual schools,” O’Beirn explained.

Monet Carter is a recruiter from CT State community college. On Thursday, October 9th, Carter came to Morgan to talk to students regarding why community college is a very viable option for college. Although she shared information about how community college can be such a better option, and post graduation options, only two Morgan students showed up to the presentation.

Carter has been a recruiter for CT State since 2021. Although she did not attend CT State, she wishes she had gone there, because it is free to attend, and she believes you get the same experience as other college students.

“What I love about CT State is that students have the ability to go to school for free. And I think it’s important because if you’re not sure if you’re confused, any type of hesitation, I think it’s a great first start,” Carter shared.

Although it seems like a big problem when people don’t show up for presentations, Carter sees the benefits of a small group. “There are certain high schools that don’t have a lot of students who I meet with. So I kind of like it when it’s not a lot of students, because I like to have those personal conversations,” she explained.

Carter also experiences problems that impact her ability to do her job. “When I go to schools like Madison, where they’re a little bit more wealthy, and we go to the college fairs, they avoid us like the plague. They’re like, I am not going to community college. Absolutely not,” Carter said.

As of today, there are 22 more colleges coming for presentations. To sign up, students should go to their Navience portal login, and then go to colleges and college visits, where they will see all the colleges offering visits. If a student is unable to attend a meeting, they should email or go tell Mrs. O’Beirn in the guidance office the second they find out they are unable to attend.

Attending college presentations not only allows you to completely learn about your options, but it also prepares you for the real world. The representatives who come in are trained and know everything about the college, what it’s like, pros, cons, and most importantly rude awakenings that people who don’t properly educate themselves about will be unaware of.

As a final thought, Carter shared her own piece of advice she would leave everyone with. “Do what feels right. The reason why I say that is because I know that college isn’t for everyone, and I know as a recruiter, that’s probably not the best sales thing to say. But I say to do what feels right because you’re gonna commit to it if it’s something you want to do. Whether it’s going to community college, whether it’s a job, just do what feels right, whatever that is, and definitely don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”