GOSHEN — Eighth grade students from Elkhart Community Schools got to visit Goshen College and Indiana University South Bend on multiple occasions recently to get an understanding for college.
“It is really important for young people to have an opportunity to visit a college campus because for a lot of kids they’ve never seen a college campus,” said Cyneatha Millsaps, executive director for the Center for Community Engagement at Goshen College. “And college is something that’s out there, but not something they’ve had a chance to experience, so bringing on them on campus gives them some way to make sense of ‘Oh that’s what college is like,’ or ‘That’s what college looks like.’”
City Councilwoman Tonda Hines said the college visits help students be able to connect the dots about college and career pathways sooner in life. Hines said the school has grown and is thriving.
During a recent visit to Goshen College, students were able to ask questions of Millsaps about the college experience and what some of them want to study or do as a career. Due to the rain on some of the visit days, students did a virtual tour instead of an actual tour of the campus.
“I also think it’s a great opportunity for our staff because this gives them something to go back and make more relevance of conversations with students about college and career readiness,” Hines said.
Luella Champ, a Northside Middle School 8th grader, said she wanted to know more about the lifestyle and how college will work after she graduates high school.
“I want to be able to get a good paying job and kind of want to get my doctorate’s degree too,” said Champ. “I like criminal psychology just in general, I like learning how the brain works, and I like the justice system a lot. It kind of ties two things together.”