College Fair Fills Huntington High School Gym
Representatives from over a hundred colleges filled Huntington High School's Louis D. Giani gymnasium last Tuesday night as a crowd of more than 650 students and parents turned out over a two-hour period for the spring college fair.
The annual event is co-sponsored by Huntington and Walt Whitman high schools and alternates between the two campuses. Huntington college counselor Bernadette Walsh, who planned this year's gathering, said colleges were still calling at the last minute and asking to be included in the fair.
Invitations were mailed out in January and slots filled up quickly. This year's participation challenged previous records for participation. Parents and students packed the gym, gathering written brochures and books, bulletins and applications and holding informal discussions with college reps from across the country, who enthusiastically fielded questions on just about every aspect of academic and campus life.
"It is a wonderful opportunity for younger students who are just beginning to think about college and for those students who are actively seeking post-high school opportunities," Mrs. Walsh said. "We had more than 100 college admission counselors as well as representatives from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces on deck. It was a great event."
Although the students were overwhelmingly underclassmen, several dozen seniors were seen searching for last minute opportunities. "The admission counselors were quite pleased with the crowd of students and parents and felt the students asked good questions, ranging the academic program and the available majors to admission requirements, financial aid and everything else in between," Mrs. Walsh said.
The college reps were earlier treated to a casual dinner with members of the two high school's guidance departments before heading to the gym to meet with students and their families from 7-9 p.m. Among the Huntington School District dignitaries joining the group was Superintendent James W. Polansky, School Board President Emily Rogan, Huntington High School Principal Carmela Leonardi, Southdown School Principal Michelle Marino, Jefferson School Principal Margaret H. Evers, Science Chairperson Rae Montesano, Director of Math Marybeth Robinette, Assistant Director of Special Education Nancy Wilson, Director of Guidance & Testing Kitty R. Klein and every high school guidance counselor, as well as J. Taylor Finley Middle School guidance counselor Phil Lowe.
"Our students seemed pleased with the selection of participating colleges," Mrs. Walsh said. "Some were surprised to see national universities such as Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame and Ivy League schools like Harvard, Dartmouth and Cornell and even the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in California. They were also happy to see highly competitive schools that are closer to home, ranging from Fordham University and Boston University to Bucknell University."
The college application season typically runs from October through February of a student's senior year, but Mrs. Walsh said she believes "it's never too early for families to start thinking about the college application and selection process."