As part of its effort to create a stronger college-going culture, the Logan County High School guidance department has cooperated with the Gear Up Kentucky program to provide several opportunities for students to visit college campuses this school year. Many of these opportunities have been targeted toward Sophomores in the belief that giving students early exposure to college experiences will make them more focused in the Junior and Senior years. Sophomore counselor Robbie Davis and Gear Up Coordinator Audrey Neal worked together to assure that students from a variety of career interests were able to learn about postsecondary programs in their area of interest.

Over forty sophomore students from the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics) Academy were able to visit the Murray State University Breathitt Veterinary Center to learn more about careers in science and agriculture. They then traveled to Land Between the Lakes for lunch and toured Murray’s agricultural center.

Also this year, sixty sophomore students from the CLASS (Community, Legal and Social Services) Academy visited the Health Science programs at Western Kentucky University and Bowling Green Technical College. All students in attendance had expressed an interest in Health Science careers. Students toured the labs used in the nursing program and toured the dental hygiene facilities. They especially enjoyed a great lunch at the Downing University Center and being able to tour a co-ed dorm. At Bowling Green Technical College, students learned about the programs offered there, including radiology, respiratory care, and nursing.

The ACE (Arts, Communication, and Education) Academy sophomores visited Murray’s campus in April to tour the journalism, arts, theater, and education departments. Students toured Murray’s campus, had lunch on campus, visited the bookstore, and learned more about what Murray had to offer. By the end of the day, several students had decided that they wanted to attend Murray after the campus visit.

One of the most unique campus visits this year was the trip to Girls STEM Day at Murray State. This was a regional event attended by several schools in the area. The conference was designed to increase female interest in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Students were divided into groups, based on personal interest, and taken to their department of choice. Female graduate and undergraduate students led the girls on a tour of each department, and then helped conduct hands-on activities. Some of these activities included creating floor plans with AutoCAD, dissecting animal specimens, and animating computer characters using the Alice 3 software. At the conclusion of the department activities, students participated in a question-and-answer panel with female professors, who spoke to the students about their high school and college preparation, as well as their involvement in primarily male-dominated fields. All three professors urged students to get as much hands-on experience as possible in their field of interest and to continue to take rigorous math and science courses in high school to prepare for the work they'll do in college.

The LCHS counselors are grateful to the Gear Up Kentucky program for helping them offer these opportunities to students at no cost.