High school seniors experienced Calumet College of St. Joseph’s perfect blend of NWI industry and down-to-earth Hoosier hospitality at the school’s open house on Saturday.
Open houses are one of the many different ways that CCSJ engages high school seniors on campus to show them how riding the crimson wave can positively impact their futures. From criminal justice to kinesiology, CCSJ has inclusive programs that can meet the needs of almost any student looking for a small school with great community support.
“The college has been here since 1951, and a lot of people still don’t know that that’s the case,” said CCSJ Vice President of Academic Affairs Ginger Rodriguez, Ph.D. “We have filled a niche in the community for leadership in this area. More than three quarters of our students tend to stay in Northwest Indiana. This open house is an opportunity for students to see that we are here, what we have here, and whether we’re a good fit for them.”
Students explored campus with tour guides to see the various departments and opportunities available to them at CCSJ. Each tour guide was more than willing to help students experience programs and extra-curricular activities related to their interests. Bishop Noll Seniors Gracia and Christina Martinez are both interested in pursuing careers in education. Luckily for them, there were several education classes in session on the day of the Open House.
“CCSJ is really close by, and this is a really good option for us. The education program here that allows students to study for three years and then student teach kindergarten through twelfth grade is really cool,” said Gracia.
“I like that the classes are so small here,” Christina added. “You can get familiar with your classmates because everybody knows each other.”
Because of the school’s small classes, everyone knows each other at CCSJ. Professors take special interest in students and provide them with job opportunities tailored to fit the students’ needs. One tour guide mentioned that Professor Kirk Robinson contacted her even after she graduated to let her know about a job opportunity.
Connections between students, professors, and the community are highly valued by CCSJ, and, according to CCSJ President Amy McCormack, the open house gave high school seniors “a flavor” of these relationships.
“[At the Open House] students can meet with faculty on the tours to get a taste of the college. I do think that, in the time that they’re here today, to be able to talk to students about their relationships with faculty and the family-environment that we have here, in a short period of time you can get a feel for the mission of the college,” McCormack said.
CCSJ’s open house introduced high school seniors to the seemingly endless educational opportunities that the college offers and hopefully convinced more students to join the CCSJ community.