Life After High School — NorthStar Navigator

By Lydia N.

People Wearing Backpacks by Stanley Morales (Pexels) Created in Canva

Life after high school can seem incredibly overwhelming for many. The newfound freedom that comes with stepping into adulthood can be exhilarating, but it also comes with more responsibility and more decisions to make. For years, NSA has organized a college fair and career fair. Traditionally, they were two separate week-long events, featuring college admissions officers in the college fair or career specialists in the career fair. The point of these events was to help students explore options for their future, taking away a little bit of that doomsday feeling high schoolers get. We are excited to say that we are bringing these events back!

Examining the different options available to you after high school can be a daunting task. Mr. Deitch, the Administrative Director of School Programs at NorthStar, says, “The decision of ‘what to do with my life’ is a big one, especially for students nearing the end of their high school experience…” However, this event makes the search a bit less stressful. “Students should make as informed decisions as possible and the college/career fair can be a great help in this regard. [...] So, our hope is to provide as much information about as many different career paths and college opportunities as possible in order to assist them in these all-important decisions. [...] The college/career fair is a "one-stop shop" for students and saves them a lot of work in seeking out information because we are bringing it all to them in one package.”

The college and career fairs will appear different this year than it has in the past. To start, these two fairs will be combined and take place over several months. Throughout February, March, and April, sessions will be held in the form of NSA Connects in the NSA Connects channel of the High School Building in Teams. Mr. Deitch’s role is to help presenters schedule their sessions in the NSA Connects channel. College admissions officers and career experts will hold 30-minute-long presentations, similar to regular Connects sessions. Student Council officers will help host and co-host these presentations, monitoring the chat and collecting questions.

All NSA high school students must attend NSA Connects sessions to engage with their peers and learn more about their personal interests outside of the virtual classroom. Regular Connects sessions will continue during the college and career fair. This event is a great time to explore the possibilities of life after high school and what interests you can pursue. The number of sessions we have each week will depend on the number of college admissions officers and career experts who sign up. Mr Deitch states, “We are not putting a cap on the number of presentations that will occur within a given week and the more the better, so if there are any careers/colleges students are interested in, they should let me or a member of StuCo know so we can try and add them to our schedule.”

College fair sessions will feature an admissions officer from a specific college or university. They will explain what their school is like, how campus life works, what types of degrees they offer, as well as other relevant information about their college. After the session is over, the admissions officer will usually take any questions you have about the college they represent.

Career fair sessions are similar, but rather than featuring a specific college representative, an expert will share their experience in a specific career field. They may share what someone working in their career experiences, how their job works, what they do, how to improve the skill set necessary for having this job, or even how they got started in their career. Again, many speakers will leave time at the end of their presentations to answer student questions.

If you have a recommendation for a college or career area that you would like to learn more about, message Mr. Deitch or a Student Council officer. Be sure to check out the NSA Connects channel in the High School Building of NSA’s official Teams server to see if you would be interested in any of the careers or colleges featured this year! Even if you do not plan to pursue a certain career or attend a certain college, it can be interesting to learn about other people’s experiences and passions. We hope to see you there!

Columns: 🎉NSA Events

Lydia N. is starting her fourth year on The NorthStar Navigator and her third as editor-in-chief. She is also the vice president of student council this year and enjoys traveling, singing, acting, performing on stage, writing, reading, watching shows, drinking coffee and tea, hanging out with friends, and cuddling with her dog, Pippin. She plans to go to a college near her home and start her own business after high school with all the skills that StuCo and the Navigator have taught her.