September 17-21 was College Awareness Week! Haywood County students were involved in activities that raised their awareness about college. Students were also encouraged to explore some future careers!

East Side students participated in the week-long event. “Students were awarded prizes from different colleges each day by drawings,” GEAR UP Coordinator Jackie Whitten said. Both middle school and high school wore college shirts and shorts. Each teacher at both schools had an “Ask Me” sign on his or her door to encourage students to ask about teachers’ college experiences.

At HHS, students participated in a poster war, and the winning class will be awarded a pizza party. The posters were to include college mascot, ACT requirement, and GPA requirement. There was a photo booth available in which students could take pictures an put them on social media using hashtag #HaywoodGEARUP. Each student also filled out a college questionnaire.

“Mr. Nickolas Grayson and I did individual college planning sessions with students on Thursday and Friday, September 21-22,” Whitten added.

On Friday, speakers from different professions talked to the students in an assembly!