Students get a taste of college life
Students from South Fork Elementary School listen as Giselle Taylor-Wells gives details on the interior design program offered by Forsyth Tech Community College.
Photo by Tevin Stinson
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
The old saying goes, it’s never too soon to start planning for your future, and last week hundreds of local fifth-graders did just that when they got a taste of the college life while touring Forsyth Technical Community College. While on campus, students visited more than a dozen classrooms and learned about the programs and degrees offered by Forsyth Tech, including mechanical engineering technology, interior design, architectural technology, welding technology, cybercrime technology, computer engineering technology and electronics engineering technology.
The tour also gave the rising middle schoolers a chance to interact with college professors and students.
Although college may be years away, studies have proven that career development should begin as early as third grade. A study completed by The National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading shows that students who do not read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma.
The study also shows that one in six children who are not reading proficiently by third grade do not graduate from high school on time.
“I think it’s wonderful that the students get to see firsthand what Forsyth Tech has to offer,” said Rachel Bishop, a fifth-grade teacher at South Fork Elementary School.
“For a lot of the students, this is their first time on a college campus. It’s important that they know that there are opportunities out there.”
