Bakersfield College held its second annual Career Pathways Open House on March 5. Although the turnout was relatively small, school department officials and event coordinators were eager to introduce incoming students to the college.
The event, which took place in the cafeteria, offered potential students the chance to gain general information about fields of study, as well as presenting a first hand look at the community college.
There were approximately 10 booths in the cafeteria, which represented departments such as digital arts, allied health and child development.
Behind every booth were two to three representatives, all of whom were helpful advocates of the departments. They answered questions and provided informative pamphlets. The open house event also included tours of the campus that took place every half hour.
The event is a new edition to Bakersfield College’s master plan, according to Ed Knudson, one of several event coordinators.
“Rather than trying to attract high school students into very specific majors, what we’ve moved to is what’s known as Career Pathways,” he said, “and so we’ve taken whole groups of majors and clustered them, and we’ve ended up with six Career Pathways.”
Knudson said that this program makes the experience of first-time enrollment less overwhelming for students. He also pointed out that the program allows students to explore available opportunities at BC.
Don Clark, director of public information and the announcer of Career Pathways, believes that the program might enable students to see things that may possibly spark their interest and motivate them to pursue an education.
“I know that every kid is uniquely gifted, and they might not know it,” he said.
“They might even be a high school dropout, but they’ve got a gift, and if you can find a way to match that gift with a promising career path, that awakens a potential and you’ve got a success story on your hands.”
A majority of the representatives – made up of counselors, student volunteers and instructors – said that it wasn’t just about providing visitors with an opportunity to explore their interests, but providing visitors unfamiliar with the college experience with essential information.
“Oftentimes students haven’t had any exposure to college, and maybe don’t have parents at home who have gone to college. So parents bring them here to get an early start and perhaps to obtain some general information,” said counselor Sandy Sierra.
“So far I like how they’re reaching out to the community, but we’ll see how this goes today,” said Jane Marin, 44, a possible incoming freshman who attended the open house event in order to obtain information for herself and for her daughter, Juliana Marin, 14.
A majority of the visitors interviewed said that seeing the campus helped them to become better acquainted with BC.
“Just being able to see the campus so you’re not totally clueless when you first enroll helps,” said Portia Tilton, 16, a sophomore from South High School.
“I think it’s a pretty good setup, and it makes it lot simpler to figure out. I especially liked the campus tours which allow you to see the places you’re interested in,” said Jonathan Marr, 17, a senior from South High School.