Last week, the College and Career Center at Bob Jones hosted an entire week in celebration of colleges and career fields. There is a national college and career week at a different point in the year, but Dr. Stephanie Bostick, the College and Career Advisor “wanted to have something unique to Bob Jones.” All throughout the week, some teachers wore shirts from the college that they attended, and students wore gear from the schools they are planning on attending. Dr. Bostick felt that she “wanted a way to celebrate all the students who had already been accepted into a university and just in general for our high school to celebrate college. Everyone works so hard here, from the teachers to the students, so [she] just wanted to celebrate it.”

Students also had the opportunity to take pictures with their acceptance letters and pendants at a photo booth created by the College and Career Center. Some teachers decorated their door in honor of their alma mater, and teachers began each day by speaking to their class about the college they attended, what their experience was, and different aspects of the career that they are in now.

The week proved to be incredibly important when it came to acknowledging everything that the College and Career Center does for the school and celebrating those that have decided what college or career field they plan on attending. When asked why college and career is important, Dr. Bostick felt that “it’s a stepping stone to your future. In my opinion, education opens the door for you in so many ways, and I help guide students in their paths, so I take that job very seriously and, whatever it may be, I want their path to be successful, and I want them to find something that they really love to do that they can also make a good career out of.”

JoAnne Stevens, a senior said, “When I got an interview with a selective college, Dr. Bostick held a mock interview with me to show me what it was going to be like, and helped me have some premeditated answers. I once emailed Dr. Bostick at 2am to ask about a college, and she responded 6 hours later enabling me to get another application in before a priority deadline. Using their scholarship list, this year I have applied to about 10 scholarships that I would have never even known about.”

On Tuesday, March 12th, Dr. Bostick worked with parents on FAFSA information, and a Patriot Path featuring Bob Jones alumni was held on Wednesday giving seniors advice and speaking about their college experiences.

In terms of how underclassmen can use the College and Career Center, Dr. Bostick says that “[she’s] always here to write recommendation letters, mainly for seniors, because those are the ones who usually need recommendation letters for scholarships, [and] to help with the application process, because some applications can be very lengthy. [Also] to get any kind of test prep, to register for the ACT,[and] to register for college. We’ve [helped] in here with FAFSA, helping students in general to fill out a college application if they get confused or if they’ve never completed one before. Just help finding what they want to do for the rest of their life. It’s also important to know what you do not want to do. Any guidance they need with college and career, we are here to help.”

Our College and Career Center is filled with people who deeply want to see Bob Jones students thrive in whatever field or area they end up in. JoAnne Stevens felt that “the College and Career Center has saved [me] on at least 20 different occasions, starting last year while I was still a junior. The list of scholarship applications they put out got me $500 before I even created an account for the Common App. Then this year, I had so many questions about how the Common App even worked, what schools wanted to see on my applications, and how I could phrase who I was in a way that would appeal to them and they all– Mrs. Simon, Mrs. Tolbert, and Dr. Bostick– were able to answer each one.”

Bob Jones’ students will always be thankful for the resources that we have. As Dr. Bostick says, the College and Career Center is always open to whoever needs help.