THUNDER BAY – Hadden Bouchard can see his future at Confederation College.
“Lately I’ve been trying to figure out what I wanted to do and I thought I was going to pursue construction,” he said. “But as soon as I realized that as a kid I’ve made videos all my life I decided I might as well pursue this so I started changing my courses.”
Bouchard, who got a closer look at the interactive media development program, was one of 240 prospective students and current applicants to tour the college’s Thunder Bay campus on Wednesday as part of their spring open house.
“The augmented reality was really fascinating and the virtual reality, as soon as I came in this room I knew this something I really like,” he said. “I’m definitely going to try to come here.”
The visitors were able to take a general tour, sit-in on college classes and explore a trade show exhibiting support services and different programs.
Cheryl-Lyn Lamers, the college’s manager of strategic enrolment, said it’s vital the future students to actually see the different programs in action to make sure they’re going down their right path.
“It’s really important for them to see the lab spaces, to be able to meet with the various faculty and really understand what kind of programs they’re interested in,” Lamers said.
“Sometimes they come in and think they want to go into health sciences but they don’t understand the differences between practical nursing, PSW, medical laboratory. This gives them an opportunity to find out about all the differences.”
Going to college can be a big step – especially coming straight out of high school – and a little bit of familiarity can go a long way, she added.
“It can be really nerve wracking to walk through the doors of an institution you’ve never stepped foot on,” Lamers said. “Being able to come here, to know where you’re classrooms are, where to find the cafeteria, who to contact if they need support or tutoring, I think that’s really crucial.”
The college is still accepting applications for many of their programs for this fall.
