This past week, Harrisonburg High School participated in the state-wide Virginia College Application Week (VACAW) program. Our school was selected as one of 32 schools taking part in this nationally organized application activity. Features of the week included a door decorating contest, teachers wearing college paraphernalia, questions of the day and, most importantly, a lab that was left open all week to seniors who wanted help applying. For senior Marilyn Gallardo, this was a huge help in her application process.

“Teachers can help [me] with questions I have and I feel more comfortable [applying] at school then I would at home,” Gallardo said. Gallardo had already applied to JMU and was still working on applying to other schools.

“It was a relief. I felt so excited after [submitting my application],” Gallardo said with a smile.

Junior Laurie Serrell also participated this week as a way to get information about applying for college.

“I can see what colleges there are and I can learn about scholarships. I’m going to go to college so I might as well learn something about it,” Serrell said. She has been involved in the trivia and competitions that the counselors have been promoting during the week. She said she would like to participate as a senior next year.

“I’ll probably have an idea of what college I want to go to, but I’d be able to see what other options there are,” Serrell said.

Guidance counselors Rachel Linden and Lauren Kershner helped organize the event at our school.

“It raises awareness about the college application process and it helps some students in [applying for] college and provides fee waivers for some schools,” Linden said of VACAW.

“[The best part is] just seeing how excited students are after hitting the submit button,” Kershner said. Linden agreed, both explaining how their satisfaction of getting that step out of the way makes it worth it for them.

Some colleges have been working on the HHS campus with potential students, promoting their college and helping students maneuver through the process. Megan Kitten, an admissions counselor from Emory-Henry College, explains their goal for the week.

“We want to spread the word about our college and help students out. I’ve been going to high schools and working with students, playing games and trivia,” Kitten said.

EMU’s admissions counselor Dan Nafziger brought along the EMU mascot, a blue lion named Herm.

“I’ve been talking to students about our college and working with them as they apply. And of course we brought Herm along. People love him,” Nafziger said.

Yearbook teacher Mary Strickler won the door decorating contest for her University of Southern California-themed door.

“I had all the materials because my son went to grad school there. We knew a lot about it and we looked up facts about it. Bozo the Clown went there, George Lucas, John Philip Sousa; there were all these cool facts about it and once you started you couldn’t stop!” Strickler said.

She explained that her door won because it was so interactive.

“You had to look for answers and I made it a game. I bought candy and people got prizes for answering questions. It spread like crazy, not because people were necessarily interested but because there was candy,” Strickler said. Strickler also expressed how impressed she was with the guidance department for putting this week together.

“When you put effort into something, it shows, and this was a resounding success!” Strickler said.