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On May 20, 2016, thirty-three juniors from John Marshall High School participated in the first annual “A Taste of CoLA” event hosted by the WLU College of Liberal and Creative Arts (CoLA). The event featured programs representing each of the degree fields within the college. Students could choose four from the following six topics:
BUDGETING AN INCOME, during which participants were challenged to provide a household budget that reflected the changing needs of individuals and families.
FIELD REPORT, where students were able to discover their inner geographers by exploring the WLU campus using a drone, GPS units and a portable weather station, as well as learn to recognize the distinctive features of places from their hometowns to as far as a map could take them.
MAKING COMICS, in which Dr. Larance from the Humanities Department discussed visual rhetoric and let students create stories out of panels from famous graphic novels.
INVESTIGATIVE PRACTICES, an event that introduced students to the field of criminal justice and allowed them to witness how specialized K-9 units work.
PSYCH OUT, during which students had the opportunity to participate in an assortment of psychology-related hands-on active learning demonstrations.
REINVENTING THE VIKINGS where students received a hands-on look at how we can interpret the activities of these intrepid seafarers by examining literary and archaeological evidence.
Students had the opportunity to explore different fields of study, meet professionals in the various areas, talk to professors, walk around the campus, and just have fun. Responses from students were overwhelming positive. Many made comments like, “To be honest all events I have participated in were very great” and “I can’t wait to come here” Some said things like, “It was a very nice opportunity to get to come here and all of the professors are very nice!” while others commented, “This was more fun than we thought it would be. Thank you!”
Interim Dean, Tammy McClain, Psy.D, stated, “We loved having the students on campus to share our passion about our disciplines and to have fun. We hope to have this become a yearly event that all area high schools take advantage of to help their students explore different career opportunities. It takes teamwork to make an event happen, and I am very appreciative of the WLU faculty and staff and the wonderful people from John Marshall High School who worked with us to provide this opportunity for the students.” For more information about the many opportunities provided by the West Liberty University College of Liberal and Creative Arts, check out our website at https://westliberty.edu/liberal-arts/.