College Fair Packs Two Gyms with Wannabees

Hunters and gatherers—it's an ancestral approach that can be applied even to College Fairs.

Students and parents from throughout the Rockwood School District—part of which includes Chesterfield—perused the aisles of materials from nearly 145 college institutions, trade schools and military programs at Rockwood's Lafayette High School Monday evening.

Marquette High School in Chesterfield is the Rockwood School District.

Some attendees hunted for specific details from specific entities; others gathered quite a large variety of materials. Regardless of approach, it's difficult to find a better opportunity than Rockwood's annual district event for analyzing that many post-high school opportunities in one spot.

A sophomore from Eureka High School knew exactly what information she was seeking at the fair. Danielle Moore said she wanted to go into nursing ever since third grade.

"I helped my grandma when she was sick, she told me I'd make a good nurse, and I've always wanted to do that," Moore said.

Moore said she was not finding a lot of nursing programs offered among the institutions at the fair, but had picked up materials from Chamberlain College of Nursing, Northwest Missouri State University, Barnes-Jewish School of Nursing and Elmhurst College. She said she had her eye on the Barnes-Jewish program since eighth grade.

Sample questions to ask college representatives were provided to attendees. Questions were grouped into four categories:

• academics
• admission requirements
• student life
• scholarship, costs and financial aid.

Rockwood college specialists at the district's four high schools are:

• Joan Lodes and Chad Sisk, Marquette High 
• Christopher Ramsay and Christy Wills, Lafayette High
• Jeff Buckman, Eureka High
• Jennedy Abellard, Rockwood Summit High.