On Sept. 6, Delta held its annual College Night from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Monica Glover, representative of University of New Hampshire believes students should not hesitate to go to four-year college despite how intimidating it can sound.
“I think the transition from high school to a four-year university is for students who have a solid foundation on what major they want. I truly believe those students have the capacity to go straight to a four-year college and we should continue to encourage them to do so as intimidating as it may sound to many. And that is why we are here today to help them gain knowledge and what our school offers because there are many programs too in higher education,” said Glover.
Glover also says what makes UNH stand out from other universities is their online gaming program which offers bachelors in science, coding. Glover also mentioned that the school’s computer programs are recognized by the National Security Administration.
The event was open to high schoolers, upcoming and current students, parents, and anyone who simply is interested in pursuing a college education; and started with “Discover the Delta College Transfer Advantage” from 5:45 to 6:15 p.m. Then, the “Financial Aid” from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m., which both took place in the Atherton Auditorium.
The welcome presentation was about different ways students can save money with the programs Delta has to offer, including financial aid, work study, part-time jobs, the California Dream Act and AB19.
In Danner Hall, visiting four-year colleges and universities took part in a College Fair from 5:30 to 8 p.m. This gave a chance for students to meet up with four-year university representatives to get information about the programs and major their school.
Delta staff set up tables for different majors outside Danner Hall to help the visitors gain knowledge about the programs offered, as well as serving fresh fruit waters and shaved ice.
Mariana Absallon, a senior from Health Careers Academic High School said she was thrilled how good Delta’s dental program is.
“I’m interested in pursuing a career in dental so Delta’s dental program definitely interested me. The [Extended Opportunities Programs and Services] EOPS program was what I liked most because they offer free dental programs which later helps to make it easier and more accessible for students to become better applicants for the position when completing the Dental Program. I think Delta has great connections in Dental and are very informative and very clear with the program,” said Absallon.
Absallon also left with the knowledge about Stockton Scholars which can also help her become more involved with student activities.
Stockton Scholars is a Stockton-based non-profit that dedicates to help public high school students throughout the city of Stockton with resources and opportunities when furthering a higher education.
The purpose is to make it simple and achievable for students, family, and their city in their education journey after high school.
The purpose for the event was for students to gain knowledge and have the chance to explore majors/careers and save money to obtain an associate degree while completing their transfer requirements.
Despite this being an event for students to explore four-year colleges and Delta’s programs, other former students who are now parents are thrilled to know that their kids still want to follow traditional steps into going into Delta.
Lary Sawbwa, is a former Delta student and parent that graduated in 2019 for Business Administration.
“I brought my son to the event to experience the campus since he is going to become the fourth person of our family going to Delta,” said Sawbwa “I like Delta because classes are very flexible and affordable considering it is a community college. What I liked best was how many online schedules they offer for busy folks and how they guide you on how to take these online classes.”
Domenica Castaneda, Student Program Assistant from the Career Transfer Center, said they were happy to see many people showed up to the event, especially on the amount of time and promotion staff put in for the event.
“We reached out to a lot of representatives out of state, CSU, UC, and we marketed it as a good outreach to a lot of high schools. Not only did we reach out to Stockton Unified District but also Lodi’s, Calaveras, Manteca’s and Tracy’s unified districts,” said Castaneda.
Superintendent/President, Dr. Lisa Aguilera Lawrenson, says she hopes the event helped students understand the different options they have to transfer because this can help them choose what makes sense in their major at an interest level.
“We are hoping to have students understand the different options they have for transfer in the state or outside the state because the more options they know the better it can help them choose something that makes sense within their interest level,” said Lawrenson. “And Delta college has and will prepare them perfectly for transfer academically and financially.
Lawreson expressed how it is important for them to know this type of information because many are first generation college students.
“Many students at Delta are first generation students so they might not have people at home who can say this is how you can transfer, however we can provide the connection and the information here at Delta,” said Lawrenson.