Concord University hosts nearly 500 students for Mercer County College Fair.
Photo By Anastasiia Vorobeva
On September 18, about 500 students from West Virginia came to Concord to explore local universities and college options at the Mercer County College Fair.
The fair took place on early Tuesday morning in the Leslie R. and Ruby Webb Carter Center, where students from four schools in Mercer County – Bluefield, Princeton Senior, PikeView, and Montcalm — had the chance to explore not only Concord’s Athens campus, but also learn about 25 different universities and colleges represented at the fair, meet professors, discover programs, discuss financial aid options, and just experience how it feels to be a college student.
“I think it sets them up for the assumption that you continue on to college. In order to get a quality job, many students are finding that a high school diploma is not enough, and that the college degree is kind of the next high school diploma,” said Sarah Wambe, director of admissions at Concord. She believes the fair helps students to prepare for their next step in life and get inspired about college life.
It has been a while since the fair took place on Concord’s campus. Before, it used to take place at Emory and Henry College. “I think moving it to a place like Concord gives it more of the collegiate feel and excitement,” said Wambe. Additionally, the fair served as a great opportunity for Concord to expose itself and show off its facilities. “Now every senior walked through our doors,” Wambe said.
“We are absolutely thrilled to see all the young people here, on campus, checking out different opportunities for their continued education following high school,” Concord President Dr. Kendra Boggess said.
Stephanie Blankenship, counselor at Bluefield High School, brought about 150 students to the fair. “I think they are excited that they are able to see different colleges all at the same time, not waiting on them to come visit our school. They seem very excited about it,” Blankenship said.
Concord professors also got a chance to exhibit some of the programs the university offers.
Dr. Roy Ramthun, Professor of Recreation and Tourism at Concord, who came to tell students about the program, said that events like the fair “are great because they give high school students a chance to see the campus and meet professors, rather than just admissions staff. One of Concord’s strengths is that our faculty are here, and approachable and know who students are.”