WILMER JOEL
High school students were invited to an open house at the College of the Marshall Islands last Tuesday to kick off the College of the Marshall Islands’ anniversary month.
CMI President Dr. Elizabeth Switaj told the Journal that one of the main purposes of the event is “to reach out to high school students and get them to start thinking about what they need to do to get into college and what they want to do.” She said the event usually involves college departments.
One of the things Dr. Rosalinda Sumaong, who has taught at the college for 18 years, enjoys in the open house is the opportunity to encourage students to pursue their career goals. “You can meet many students and be able to share with them what we are giving them and that they will be inspired (and) encouraged to continue with their academic pursuits,” she said. In order for all high school students to be aware of the open house and what CMI has to offer, she recommended that the event be better advertised.
The open house helps the students discover that they have the option to pursue higher education on the island, according to Jennifer Seru, chair of Development Education and a 15-year college employee. She added that increasing incentives and activities for high school students would be effective in increasing their engagement.
The Journal spoke with some of the high school students present about their takeaways from the event.
Kaili Masek, Assumption High School
The event is important because it helps students decide what they want to become in the future. I talked to the marine science booth about my desire to become a marine biologist, and they guided me through the available career options. One of the takeaways I learned from the nursing department after going through tests was that if your blood sugar is higher than 120, it is not good. I want to be a marine biologist because our country lacks resources. It would be nice if events like these had more food.
Layla Tibon, Majuro Cooperative High School
It is important to be here because it has positive impacts on student’s lives through the education you learned at the open house. Some things that I learned here was from MIMRA’s booth about the safety of people and how to use a life raft properly during emergencies. When we were visiting the booth, I remembered seeing a lot of videos and listening to their presentation about how they were using the resources around them to benefit their studies and how it would impact their lives in the future. A friendlier invitation to attend presentations is something that could be improved. We will be walking and some of the presenters are staring at us. It will take awhile for them to acknowledge us and present.
Christopher Dooley, Life Skills Academy
I learned numerous things about being at this event, but I found the carpentry booth quite interesting. I hope to become a teacher, and being here has helped me understand my career path. It is crucial that students take part in events like these because it will expose them to new information.