If you build it near the cafeteria, they will come.

Cotter hosted a college and work fair on campus on Tuesday, November 7.  The event was open to 10th-12th grade students during 4th period and lunch hour.

Gunderson Health and Winona Health were in attendance as well as the a number of colleges and universities.  In attendance were reps. from the three local universities,  Minnesota State Southeast, St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, and Winona State University, two schools from La Crosse, Viterbo University and UW-La Crosse, the University of MN-Duluth,   St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedicts from Collegeville and St. Joseph, Minn.

The genesis of the event was a conversation between Cotter counselors Kathleen Klick and Mike Hagarty.

“We have a limited number of days and a lot of schools and some businesses that want to connect with students and we thought this would be a good way for students to check out different options in a single day,” Mrs. Klick said.

The event was held in the lounge area adjacent to the cafeteria in St. Joseph Hall, which made it impossible for students to miss seeing.

“It was an intimate space, but we think it worked well. We were looking to get creative to generate foot traffic and make sure the students took advantage of the opportunity and the schools and organizations were easy to access,” Mr. Hagarty said.

“We looked at the event as sort of a pilot to see how the space worked and what we would hear back from the schools and students to see if we want to have a similar space next year or perhaps move it to a larger area like the small gym,” Mrs. Klick said.

“Students had a chance to check in with a number of schools and Gunderson and Winona Health had information on opportunities, including a path for students who are enrolled in our new CNA course,” Mr. Hagarty said.

“I didn’t really know a lot about some of these schools before I talked to them and it was definitely helpful to look at options that are in our area,” Kollin Diaczun, a junior, said.

“I enjoyed getting to talk to different schools about their on campus activities, how they handle AP and PSEO credits, and what the social life on campus is like,” junior Lucy Fitch said.

“It was nice to have a number of different schools to talk to in one setting, even if they aren’t ones I have been looking at attending,” Ellen Casperson, also a junior, said.

In the wake of the fair, the counselors received  positive feedback from both the presenters and the students who attended it.

“We heard from the universities and they said they appreciated the set-up and that the Cotter students, were prompt, mature and enthusiastic. And we actually had a student stop in and personally thank us the next day for putting on the event, which was unexpected, but affirming,” Mr. Hagarty said