Boys & Girls Club experiences a ‘Day of College’

BLOOMINGTON – Ivy Tech Community College’s Bloomington campus hosted a “Day of College” event for the Boys & Girls Club of Ellettsville. Youth, ages 7-13, experienced a day in the life of a college student, touring campus and attending a mock orientation and classes.

Esthela Rodriguez, assistant director of admissions, organized the event with Oscar Gonzalez, unit director of the Boys & Girls Club of Ellettsville.

During the event, Rodriguez shared her own journey from Ivy Tech Community College to Indiana University, to inspire youth to think of Ivy Tech as part of their own college plans. Youth created flags of the colleges they wanted to attend and talked about their future college plans.

“Many of the Boys & Girls Club members voiced they wanted to come to Ivy Tech first and then go to Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana,” said Rodriguez.

As the Boys & Girls Club toured campus, they stopped in classrooms to learn about career options through fun activities. They made their own ice cream, visited the exercise science and kinesiology lab to measure electromagnetic charges in their muscles, learned about nutrition, and met with nursing students.

One Boys & Girls Club member has already decided where she will attend college.

“A young lady told me she already decided that she would be coming to Ivy Tech,” said Sarah Cote, biology program chair at Ivy Tech Bloomington. “Her decision to come to Ivy Tech is the reason why programming for youth is so important! Suddenly, higher education becomes accessible and they can see themselves pursuing college in the future.”