Organization makes college information more accessible to students

College in Our Community fair to be held Thursday evening

SAN ANTONIO – The fall semester for many high school juniors and seniors means getting ready for college, whether they are applying to or visiting a campuses.

For many under-represented students in San Antonio, access to campuses, or information is just not there, which is why organizers of the College in Our Community college fair are bringing the colleges to the students.

Juan Salazar is the father of two college bound teens, Diego and Iliana, who are still looking for the right school.

Salazar said thanks to last year's College in Our Community fair, they were able to get some guidance.

"The school representatives were great," Salazar said. "Even though there were a lot of kids here, they each took the time to do that one-on-one talk.”

Salazar said Diego and Iliana are looking forward to this year's fair as well, and with more than thirty colleges and universities set to be at the event, including Harvard, Stanford and Rice, organizers are expecting a big crowd Thursday night.

"We changed things around a bit to make it a little bit easier to come and access the college representatives," said Rosemary Salinas, co-organizer of the College in Our Community college fair.

The event is co-sponsored by the Academy for Teacher Excellence at UTSA, which will also provide volunteers.

Faculty and graduate students from UTSA’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies will also be there to help students get to that next step.

"It means a lot, actually," said Vanessa Sansone, co-organizer of the College in Our Community college fair. "We want to encourage students, who have a similar background as us, and encourage them to pursue college."

The College in Our Community fair is scheduled from 6-8 p.m., Thursday and will be held at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church Gym on 125 W. Whittier St.


About the Author:

Stephanie Serna is a weekday anchor on Good Morning San Antonio and GMSA at 9 a.m. She joined the KSAT 12 News team in November 2009 as a general assignments reporter.