For the second year, Haywood High School students participated in a variety of activities while the juniors took the ACT test. Freshman attended break out sessions all day. Speakers presented information about careers in the medical field, law enforcement and agriculture; what employers are looking for in employees, peer pressure and domestic and nondomestic violence. There was also a session about county government. Sophomores toured either Jackson State Community College or Union University, and seniors participated in the second annual College Expo at First United Methodist Church.

REDI College Access, GEARUP and Haywood High School Counselors hosted the second annual College Expo Tuesday, March 18, at the First United Methodist Church, Brownsville. At the expo all seniors participated in a college simulation called AnyCollege.

The activity simulated the experience of college enrollment and campus navigation. Participants were given new student identities as they attended one of six colleges. High school staff, teachers, and community volunteers also assumed the characters of respective campus personnel as they managed offices, departments and taught classes. Haywood High School seniors learned the ups and downs of college life. Seniors faced a simulation of their first three days of college in 15-minute increments (with three-minute nights in their dorms or apartments). They completed real life responsibilities of “paying” for tuition, getting housing assignments, attending classes and scheduling time to eat, study, play and work on campus. Seniors learned to cope with waiting in long lines, being sent to various departments and abiding by campus rules. Yes, there were even campus security officers.

The purpose of AnyCollege is to represent the realities often observed on a college campus. The simulation has many layers of bureaucracy built into it intended to enlighten and at times entertain or frustrate the young “freshmen.” After the simulation, the students asked questions and shared what they had learned to better prepare them for the beginning of their college career.