The HEAR Workshop

Audrey Martinez
The Paw Print
 

On Tuesday, March 23, Adams State College and Trinidad State Junior College hosted their seventh annual HEAR Workshop. The Higher Education Awareness and Resources (HEAR) Workshop started out with a free dinner for all parents and students attending the workshop. The dinner was followed by several resources in assisting parents and students to better understand college and the funding available for a college education.  There were several speakers from Adams State College, Trinidad State Junior College, and Higher Education Funding representatives. This workshop provided many insights for incoming freshmen which were beneficial to help them better their future by attending college and getting the available funds to make those educational dreams a reality.

The actual workshop started with an introduction on the housing available at Adams State College and its advantages. The speaker emphasized how different the environment is when living on campus as compared to living off campus. By living on campus, students are able to experience a different environment and become involved with the college more thoroughly. There are many new opportunities that incoming freshmen should take advantages of while living on campus. 

Many of the services that are offered at Adams State College are a great opportunity for students to get support, advice, and become actively involved. Student Support Services is a service available to ensure students’ success in college. Student Support Services is dedicated to helping students graduate from college by offering essential services for college success. Services available through Student Support Services range from counseling services for meeting education goals or personal issues, to tutoring, mentoring, educational trips, scholarships, and several success and career workshops. In addition to the variety of services offered, Student Support Services hosts a variety of activities to create a closer bond between students at Adams State College. Some of these activities include movies, barbecues, banquets, and extracurricular activities. The wonderful thing about Students Support Services is that if a student needs a service immediately they will work as hard as they can to provide this service to students as soon as they can. 

Adams State College considers the first year of college as a major transition in students’ higher education. Hence, Student Engagement and Success seeks to provide students with support services promoting the development of skills and transformations for achievement in first-year students. Student Engagement and Success also provides advising for first-year students so they may become successful by being actively engaged in campus events. The director of student engagement and success told the high school seniors that belonging to a First-Year Interest Group (FIG) is a beneficial way for first-year college students to meet and develop relationships with other students and faculty as well. The FIG program is a two semester long initiation that generates a community for freshmen throughout the campus. There are a variety of services available at Adams State College, which can help students become successful and meet their lifelong educational goals.

An Adams State College junior student talked about her experiences at ASC and told the students about the opportunities and advantages she has had while attending Adams State College and living on campus. She said that living on campus has allowed her to become involved in several opportunities that are offered throughout campus. Living on campus has allows students to gain many new experiences by taking advantage of the opportunities and clubs offered at Adams State College. She also emphasized that the resources here at Adams State are remarkable. All of the resources and services that ASC have to offer are beneficial and accountable, whether you need a tutor or just want to open the doors to success by becoming involved with the Adams State College community.

There was also a speaker from Trinidad State Junior College who talked about the several programs that they offered. TSJC offers about 35 programs that are all hands-on, providing students with the opportunity to experience the career they intend to enter immediately. Trinidad State also offers classes that may be transferred to Adams State College. These classes can be taken online, through hybrid, or night and weekend classes. So there is an opportunity for anyone to fit classes into their busy schedules to be able to accomplish their educational goals. However, Trinidad does not have a housing program, but they do have an agreement with Adams that TSJC students may live in the dorms at the ASC campus, which is a great advantage for these students seeking housing.

After the faculty talked about all the services and advantages offered at Adams State and Trinidad State, college funding was covered. High school students and parents were given tips and advice on what to do to get the best and most effective benefits for funding college expenses. Tips for applying for financial aid were given. Students and parents were strongly encouraged to complete the FAFSA, so that families can come up with a plan to pay for these expenses. Federal Student Aid wants to ensure that all eligible individuals benefit from the financial assistance available such as grants, work study, and low interest loans for education beyond high school. Pursuing an education beyond high school is an opportunity that students should not deny because they don’t think they can get the assistance to get through college or they don’t know if college life is for them. Students can make it happen! There are many ways that funding can be offered to students to help pay for the cost and there is always time to decide what it is that students want to major in or study.

Students and parents were advised to take advantage of all the funding opportunities that there offered. Representatives also talked about the advantages of registering with CollegeInvest and the College Opportunity Fund (COF) for Colorado residents.  CollegeInvest is a nonprofit division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Its sole mission has been to support Colorado families by breaking down the financial barriers to higher education. There are many advantages when registering with CollegeInvest. Students and parents are not only able to plan out the financial expenses but are able to look for scholarships, important pointers, and compare the cost of colleges throughout Colorado that are offering a degree plan of student’s interest. The COF is created by the Colorado Legislature, providing a stipend to eligible undergraduate students. The stipend pays a portion of their total in-state tuition when attending a Colorado public institution. Qualifying students may use the stipend for eligible undergraduate classes. The COF is easy and free, and all incoming freshmen that are Colorado residents should take advantage of it.

The HEAR Workshop was an effective banquet for parents and students who are brand new to the college experience, whether it is the types of services offered at a college or the funding that is out there to help pay for college expenses. This workshop covered all the important aspects of getting as much aid as possible by applying and registering for all the opportunities offered to incoming freshmen and all undergraduate college students. It is very important that students take these opportunities in order to get help in pursing their educational goals and become successful members of the Adams State College and Trinidad State Junior College community.