Do you ever wonder how to choose the right college to attend? You have so many choices, so many decisions, and so little time. At Broadview University, we have “Career Preview Days” where High school students from all over the Salt Lake area have come to tour our campuses and see what we have to offer. Mark Harrison, Broadview University High School coordinator, has been setting up these Career Preview days for several years, and I had the chance to interview him about the events.
High school students visiting Broadview University with the quest to discover the magic of college.
How many Career Preview days have we had at Broadview?
We have had a variety of Career Preview Days this year: five formal ones at Broadview University-Oremwith one informal one. We’ve had two formal ones at the West Jordan Campus.
Which high schools have attended?
The high schools that have attended the Orem campus events are Manti, Gunnison, North Sevier, Richfield, South Sevier, American Leadership Academy Charter High School, Polaris, South Summit, and Wasatch. Gunnison came back, unplanned and spontaneously, a second time with a different group of students that wanted to see Broadview as well as the other big schools they were scheduled to see in Utah Valley.
How can schools participate in these Career Preview Days?
Schools can participate in a Career Preview Day by contacting us like Gunnison and Granite Technical Institute did, or they are contacted by a high school coordinator, like myself, who visits school counselors and teachers informing them of the events, distributing flyers and invitation letters, and following up with emails and phone calls.
What can the students expect when they come to Broadview?
Sometimes schools come to preview just one program; sometimes they come to preview several programs. The program chairs conduct a workshop for the students which usually includes an overview of the particular field, an orientation to an education by Broadview in that field, and a hands-on activity.
After the workshops, we all get back together for an abundance of pizza and cookies and give the students a chance to share “take-aways” or “ah-ha” moments, ask questions, and fill out interest inquiry forms.
What are some of the benefits students get from Career Preview days?
Besides giving the students more insight into possible careers they are considering, I think that the Career Preview Day events are a great way for helping high school students understand, firsthand, the differences and benefits to Broadview University’s type of education. They have a basic idea of what traditional colleges are like, but Career Preview Day events help open their eyes to postsecondary education options that they haven’t understood or haven’t been aware of which might be more to their liking and benefit.
Students commonly comment on the small class emphasis and hands-on style of our education (and on the pizza and cookies). They love the hands-on activities: suturing bananas, dissecting sheep eyeballs, learning to give shots to sponges, or massaging muscles. A typical Career Preview will last two hours. At the end of an event, I frequently have teachers or counselors ask if they can bring students back next year.
For more information, call Mark Harrison or Annie Critchfield at 801-822-5800
